Freddie O'Connell speaks to supporters after his election victory
Alice Rolli outspent Freddie O'Connell in the final days of the mayoral election, according to campaign finance filings covering the period from Sept. 6 through the end of the month. (Election Day was Sept. 14.)
Rolli, who lost the runoff to O'Connell by nearly 30 percentage points, reported receiving $81,823.49, including more than $11,000 in a personal loan, during the period. She spent $207,207.82, though more than $50,000 of that spending was on repaying personal loans made to the campaign. Rolli reported having nearly $17,000 on hand at the end of September and more than $100,000 in outstanding loans.
Though most of the contributions came in prior to the Sept. 14 election, Rolli reported receiving several big checks after she had lost, including max donations from local business and legal figures John Ingram, Andrew Byrd and Aubrey Harwell.
O'Connell, meanwhile, reported receiving north of $200,000 during the period and spending $117,617.94. He has nearly $560,000 left in the bank with no loans outstanding. The report showed that O'Connell was able, as the election's outcome became clear, to lure support from camps that might be unexpected. As previously reported, local businessman Bobby Joslin, who funded ads attacking O'Connell, donated to him in early September. Officials from downtown bars and transpotainment companies, plus East Bank master developer the Fallon Company, were also among those giving to O'Connell's campaign.
Most of O'Connell's expenditures went to staff.
In the race for four remaining Metro Council at-large seats (Zulfat Suara won one of the five positions in the first round of voting in August), the eight remaining candidates reported a wide variety of financial activity in the campaign's closing days.
The four seats went to Delishia Porterfield, Quin Evans-Segall, Burkley Allen and Olivia Hill. Missing out were Chris Cheng, Howard Jones, Jeff Syracuse and Russ Pulley.
Porterfield
Raised: $15,415
Spent: $21,252.22
On hand: $14,342.22
Evans-Segall
Raised: $21,064.45
Spent: $94,944.82
On hand: $122.71
Allen
Raised: $6,200
Spent: $74,175.69
On hand: $20,538.50
Hill
Raised: $9,292
Spent: $71,943.75
On hand: $72,281.44
Loans outstanding: $81,500
Cheng
Raised: $3,750
Spent: $21,094.78
On hand: $2,694.51
Jones
Raised: $11,630
Spent: $13,458.51
On hand: $0
Unclear whether he paid back a $12,000 loan from earlier in the campaign
Syracuse
Raised: $15,957.00
Spent: $147,070.76
On hand: $27,129.57
Pulley
Raised: $19,154 (including a donation from then-Mayor John Cooper)
Spent: $98,387.87 (including a $10,000 donation made to the Hillsboro High School basketball program after the election)
On hand: $10,027.69
