Incumbents steamrolling challengers in campaign donations

By Conor Shine

Wednesday, March 18, 2015 | 12:05 p.m.

When it comes to raising campaign cash, it’s good to be the incumbent.

The eight city council members in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson running for re-election outraised their challengers by a combined margin of $1.4 million to $380,000 since Jan. 1, according to campaign finance reports released Tuesday.

Leading the way was Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman, who has raised $526,000 since the start of the year, adding to the $137,000 she had already raised for her re-election bid.

Goodman, who’s facing a strong challenge from fellow City Council member Stavros Anthony, hasn’t been afraid to tap into her massive war chest, spending $332,000 on advertisements, political consultants and other expenses.

One of her top donations came from Ted Fechser, a vice president at commercial real estate firm Cornerstone Company, who gave a pair of maximum $10,000 donations — one from him and another through a trust — for a total of $20,000.

Boyd Gaming also gave a total of $20,000 to Goodman’s campaign through various casino properties.

Other maximum contributions to Goodman’s campaign included $10,000 from Westward Dough Operating Co., Granite Gaming Group, Tamares Barrick Las Vegas Properties and Fletcher Jones Management Group.

For his part, Anthony, who launched a bid to unseat the mayor over her support for a controversial publicly funded downtown soccer stadium, has raised $309,000 since Jan. 1 and has spent $204,000 total on his campaign.

That total includes a $100,000 transfer from Anthony's campaign account he collected when he ran for city council in 2013.

Anthony also received $20,000 from Boyd Gaming properties and $10,000 from various Station Casinos properties. Other maximum donations to Anthony’s campaign came from Ed Bozarth Nevada Chevrolet, Wayne Diaz and Marc Morse.

Phil Cory and Abdul Shabazz, the other challengers in the mayoral race, raised $4,600 and nothing, respectively, for their campaigns.

The primary election for municipal races is on April 7 and, if necessary, the general election will be held on June 2.

Here are highlights from campaign finance reports filed by candidates in the other City Council races:

Las Vegas

Three other incumbent City Council members running for re-election padded their fundraising leads over their challengers over the last two and a half months.

Ward 5 Councilman Ricki Barlow added $252,000 to the $35,500 he’d already raised for his campaign, including maximum $10,000 donations from Ahern Rentals, United Nissan, Boyd Gaming, Xtreme Manufacturing, TWR Development and Tamares Las Vegas Properties.

Campaign finance reports for Barlow’s opponent, Randy Voyard, have not yet been released.

In Ward 3, Councilman Bob Coffin raised more than his five challengers combined, bringing in $88,000 since January. That included a $10,000 contribution from medical marijuana company BBMC, $5,000 from Findlay Sports and Entertainment, which spent the last year lobbying the council to build a publicly funded stadium downtown, and $5,000 from the firefighters union. Coffin has raised a total of $222,000 for his campaign so far.

Among Coffin’s challengers, Megan Heryet raised the most, with $11,670 since January, including $5,000 she loaned to her campaign. Alicia Herrera donated $1,500 to her campaign, her only contribution so far, while Eric Krattiger has raised $400. Two other candidates, Hart Fleischhauer and Carlo Poliak, raised no money for their campaigns.

It’s a similar situation in Ward 1, where incumbent Lois Tarkanian raised $75,600 compared to the $500 Raymond Fletcher donated to his own campaign. Tarkanian received $10,000 contributions from Station Casinos, Boyd Gaming and lobbyist Jay Brown.

North Las Vegas

In Ward 1, City Councilwoman Pamela Goynes-Brown increased her fundraising advantage over her three challengers, with $87,600 in campaign contributions since January. She received $10,000 from Station Casinos and $10,000 through the TJ Fechser Separate Property Trust.

Her challengers have largely funded their own campaigns, with Planning Commissioner Laura Perkins raising $12,500, including a $4,000 loan to her own campaign, and Richard Carreon raising $1,720, including a $1,600 contribution to his own campaign. Campaign reports for Richard Moyer have not been released.

In Ward 4, Richard Cherchio is trying to reclaim a City Council seat he lost in 2011. Cherchio brought in $112,000 to fund his effort, including $10,000 donations from Station Casinos, lobbyist Jay Brown and the TJ Fechser Separate Property Trust.

His opponent, chiropractor Matthew Anderson, raised $8,500, with nearly $7,000 coming from current Ward 4 City Councilman Wade Wagner, who decided not to run for re-election.

Henderson

Ward 4 City Councilman Sam Bateman started the year with a massive fundraising lead after bringing in $262,000 in 2014. He’s added $82,000 more since Jan. 1, including $5,000 contributions from Henderson’s firefighter union, Inspirada Builders and Boyd Gaming.

Challenger Derek Uehara raised $41,000 for his campaign, one of the largest amounts for non-incumbents. His top contributions included $5,000 from Herbert Uehara and Golden Catalyst LLC, plus a $13,000 loan. Tristan Galicia, the third candidate for the Ward 4 seat, raised no money for his campaign.

Ward 2 Councilwoman Debra March doubled her campaign war chest, bringing in $154,000 since Jan. 1 and adding to the $160,000 she’d already raised. Her biggest donations included $10,000 from Station Casinos, $10,000 from James Nave and $5,000 from Boyd Gaming. Her opponent, Crystal Hendrickson, raised $1,300.

Ward 1 Councilwoman Gerri Schroder has raised $125,000 since January, bringing her total campaign fundraising to $192,000. Her top donor was Station Casinos, which gave $10,000, with $5,000 contributions from the Henderson Police union, the M Resort and Union Village. Her opponent Eddie Hamilton has raised $370 since Jan. 1. The finance report for Edward O’Neil has not been released.