In the final quarter campaigning prior to the April 1 municipal elections, candidates who raised and spent the most money did not necessarily win. Many of the race-winners, in fact, spent less than their opponents during this time.
The Illinois State Board of Elections required candidates to file financial reports last Tuesday and disclose their fundraising and expenditures between Jan. 1 and Mar. 31.
For some big spenders, their expenses paid off.
Keeping with past reports, Mayor Daniel Biss drew in the most funds and also spent the most, nearly tripling the expenses of challenger Jeff Boarini.
Biss won in a landslide in 2021, but faced criticism throughout his term, largely because of his tie-breaking vote in favor of the commercialization of the Ryan Field rebuild and his championing of Envision Evanston 2045. Still, he raised a whopping $125,100 in the last three months of the race, and earned 63% of the vote, according to unofficial election results from the Cook County Clerk’s office.
In the aldermanic races, Ald. Tom Suffredin (6th), who won his race, led both fundraising and spending during this period. Suffredin raised $48,700, nearly tripling challenger Candance Chow’s $17,600 raised.
During the race, Chow frequently accused Suffredin, who is a lobbyist, of taking excessive influence from outside groups, including other lobbyists in Springfield.
“Evanston doesn’t need outside groups dictating who should be on our City Council,” Chow wrote in a March 5 news release. “I was not afraid to take on the corrupt Madigan machine, and I will not back down against Tom and his legion of Springfield lobbyists funding his campaign and attacking mine.”
Suffredin previously told The Daily that he didn’t feel the need to address these allegations now that the campaign is over.
While Suffredin and Biss spent big and won, other races valued a less costly approach.
In the 2nd Ward, both Darlene Cannon and Jacqueline Mendoza spent more than race-winner and incumbent Ald. Krissie Harris. Cannon reported $6,700 in expenditures compared to Harris’ $1,700.
The 3rd Ward race saw a similar trend, although Ald. Melissa Wynne, the incumbent, was not running. John Kennedy and Gennifer Geer spent more and received more, respectively, than race-winner Shawn Iles. Both Kennedy and Geer spent more than $16,000, in contrast to Iles’ reported $6,700.
Although Ald. Jonathan Nieuwsma (4th) raised $2,000 from January through March, he didn’t record any expenditures. His write-in opponent Meg Welch, meanwhile, raised $2,400 and spent nearly half of it.
In the 7th Ward, Kerry Mundy spent almost seven times more than Parielle Davis, and reported 10 times more donations than Davis, yet only garnered 42% of the vote. He has yet to concede the race.
Fundraising for 1st Ward candidates was more equal, yet race-winner and incumbent Ald. Clare Kelly ultimately had a higher expenditure total than challenger Stephen Hackney.
Fifth Ward challenger Carlis Sutton and 8th Ward incumbent Ald. Devon Reid didn’t file quarterly reports, according to the Illinois State Board of Election website. Neither seemingly had active campaign committees for the election, and both lost their respective races. Neither responded to requests for comment.
Reid ran a bare-bones campaign and was the only incumbent seeking re-election to lose their seat. His opponent, former Land Use Commission Chair Matt Rodgers, garnered about 64% of the vote and raised over $11,000 in the final months of his campaign.
The new council will be sworn in on April 28.
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