New campaign finance reports show the previously largest fundraiser in Kanawha County's school board race hasn't significantly increased his haul since around the end of March, but he has greatly accelerated spending.
The reports due last week show Ric Cavender, executive director of the Charleston Main Streets economic and community development organization, has received $1,300 in monetary contributions, plus a donation of $100 worth of recording services for a radio advertisement. That brought his total contributions to about $15,950.
His most recent donations include $150 from Delegate Stephen Skinner, D-Jefferson, and $500 from local attorney Michael Del Giudice.
But while the first campaign finance reports, due around the end of March, showed Cavender had spent $1,980, his latest filing shows he has spent $7,830 more, including $4,760 in TV ads from Sinclair Broadcasting, $1,330 in radio ads from West Virginia Radio Corp. and $1,630 in print ads from Charleston Newspapers, the company that operates the Gazette-Mail.
The most recent report also stated he had $2,220 left to spend ahead of the May 10 primary election, and Cavender said Thursday he's already spent $1,000 more on TV ads since the report.
Candidates in the non-partisan school board race have no general election - they're elected at-large during the primary and take office July 1. There are four candidates in this election for two up-for-grabs school board seats, and residents can vote for two of the four.
Earlier finance reports showed former Charleston city councilman Adam Knauff, who's been critical of Cavender and the current school board, was the second-largest fundraiser at about $4,000, of which he'd already spent all but $335 by around the end of March. The Kanawha Voter Registration Office said it still hadn't received a more recent report from him as of late Thursday afternoon, despite the fact they were supposed to be received or mailed postmarked last week, and Knauff didn't return the Gazette-Mail's requests for comments this week.
However, Kanawha County Clerk Vera McCormick, whose office oversees local elections, said there are no real consequences for candidates who don't turn in these reports on time. She said her office reports to the county prosecuting attorney and the West Virginia Secretary of State the names of candidates whose reports are still missing, incomplete or inaccurate 60 days after the primary election, but doesn't report the names of people who turned in valid reports but missed the various earlier due dates.
In an email, the Secretary of State's Office wrote there's a $25-per-day fine for candidates who don't file reports, but county clerks don't have to send the office names as long as reports are filed within 60 days of the election.
"So, the Secretary of State's Office would only become involved if a county reports a delinquent candidate to us," the email stated. "If that were to happen, the office would send a written notice and the candidate would be given 10 days to file the report before action is taken."
The email also indicated state law prohibits a candidate from taking an oath of office, performing official duties or accepting pay if they have a delinquent campaign finance report.
Bill Carpenter, a retired longtime construction manager who is self-funding his campaign, has raised and spent nothing since his initial finance report, which showed $25 spent on the filing fee and $20 on business cards.
The most recent finance report for Jim Crawford, a 16-year school board incumbent, shows he added $2,100 in money contributions to his previous collections of $1,725.
His more recent contributions include $1,000 from the Kanawha branch of the American Federation of Teachers union, $500 from former Williamson mayor Sam Kapourales and $500 from Charleston attorney Steve White, who previously gave $500 to Cavender. White, a former state Democratic Party chairman whom Crawford said he's known for 15 or 20 years, is the father of current school board member Ryan White.
Crawford's report shows he spent $2,600 on Charleston Newspapers ads, which, atop previously reported spending, leaves him with about $50. He said he'll return any further contributions and donate the $50 to a charity.
Reach Ryan Quinn at ryan.quinn@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1254, facebook.com/ryanedwinquinn or follow @RyanEQuinn on Twitter.