Monroe County campaign filings show highest spending in commissioner race, lowest in assessor contest

The May 5 primary election is just a week away. Pre-primary campaign finance filings show Monroe County candidates in key contested races in the Democratic Party’s primary have spent money on a familiar mix of campaign basics like printing, postage, and voter outreach.

The required CFA-4 forms, which show spending and donations from Jan. 1 to April 10 were due ten days ago, on April 17.

It’s probably not a big surprise that the highest amount of spending is by candidates for county commissioner, because those officials are more often in the public eye than the county prosecutor, clerk or assessor. This article provides a quick overview of the spending in those four races.

Commissioner

In the race for the District 1 county commissioner’s nomination, the filings for Trent Deckard and David Henry reflect a combined total in expenditures of $36,836.

Deckard’s $19,846.55 in expenditures include several payments for printing of items like door hangers and sending direct mail, along with $650 in payments to two field organizers. Deckard’s wife, Kyla Cox Deckard, contributed $1,800 worth of in-kind services including door hanger design, social media graphics, recruitment flyers, and campaign material development. Deckard’s filing shows $5,491.67 cash on hand.

The biggest individual cash donation to the Deckard campaign came from the Indiana Realtors Association PAC, at $6,800. The Egis Stronger Future PAC gave the Deckard campaign $1,000.

Egis also gave David Henry’s campaign $1,000, which helped support $16,989.87 worth of expenditures. Henry’s spending shows some similarities with Deckard’s, with spending on mail pieces, printed materials, and campaign services, but also includes payments for digital outreach and voter contact tools, like the Democratic Party’s VAN (Voter Activation Network). That is the party’s voter database and campaign tool.

The biggest contribution to Henry’s campaign was an in-kind donation of $5,000 for mailers and graphics, from Myers & Croxton Group, a local Bloomington marketing firm. Henry’s filing shows $1,785.34 cash on hand.

Prosecutor

In the prosecutor race, incumbent Erika Oliphant’s $9,179.56 includes spending on printing and campaign materials, along with postage and outreach-related costs, including a mailing for $6,000. Her campaign also paid for access to the Democratic Party’s VAN. Oliphant’s expenditures through April 10 leave her with $8,313.71 cash on hand.

Benjamin Arrington, who is also running for the party’s nomination as prosecutor, reported about the same amount of spending as Oliphant, at $8,792.24. Arrington’s expenditures through April 10 leave him with under $100 left as a cash balance. Arrington’s expenditures include basics like signage and printed materials, as well as $7,000 worth of in-kind services for campaign research and a marketing package.

Clerk

In the race for the Democratic Party’s nomination for clerk, Tressia (Tree) Martin Lucas has spent the most so far at $3,962.71,which leaves her with a negative cash balance of $1,748.72. Martin Lucas has loaned her campaign $3,339.53. Her filing reports spending on campaign signs, printed literature, and outreach materials.

Through April 10, Tanner Branham had not spent much of the $4,500 he raised in direct contributions. The $598.45 he has spent went for printing and an event venue which leaves him with a cash balance of $3,906.55.

Joe Davis reported no expenditures, out of the $1 direct contribution he made to his own campaign. His CFA-4 filing shows $429.23 in debts for signs from a previous campaign.

Assessor

In the assessor race, Bob Nyquist’s $2,223.11 worth of expenditures includes spending on graphics, postage, and printed materials, as well as an email blitz for $709, which was the single largest expenditure he made.

Judith Sharp’s total expenditures of $1,070 are recorded as a campaign debt, an amount she loaned the campaign, which paid for campaign signs, according to her filing.