Show us the $$$: Campaign funding in local races

Candidates running for mayoral, city council, school board and port commission seats in Camas-Washougal have raised tens of thousands of dollars for their campaigns during the build up to the Nov. 2 General and Special Election.

Following is a look at the campaign financing data — including who donated to the candidates, how much money came from outside the local area and how each candidate has spent their contributions — behind the Camas mayoral, Camas and Washougal city council, Camas and Washougal school board and Port of Camas-Washougal Board of Commissioners races included on Camas-Washougal voters’ Nov. 2 ballots:

CAMAS MAYOR

The Camas mayoral race between current Camas City Councilman Steve Hogan and Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce Director Jennifer Senescu has brought in more than $56,000 in cash and in-kind contributions.

Steve Hogan: One week before the election, Hogan, who has served on the city council for 16 years and acted as the city’s mayor pro-tem in 2014 and 2017, had raised $28,824, including $2,168 in in-kind donations, for his campaign.

Hogan’s contributions include several donations from current and former Camas-Washougal officials and other well-known residents, including Washougal Mayor Molly Coston ($200), Camas Mayor Ellen Burton ($50), Camas City Councilman Greg Anderson ($50), former Camas mayor Scott Higgins and his wife, Allison Higgins ($250 each), former Washougal city councilwoman Joyce Lindsey ($50), Port of Camas-Washougal Director David Ripp ($50) and well-known Camas High School soccer coach Roland Minder ($100).

Other contributions coming into Hogan’s campaign include:

• $2,269 from himself;
• 61 percent of Hogan’s contributions from people other than himself ($16,155) came from Camas residents;
• $10,400 from residents living outside the city of Camas, including $300 from Washougal residents and $4,800 from Vancouver residents;
• 12 donors who contributed $1,000 each: Camas Storage, LLC; Washington Association of Realtors Political Affairs Council; Constantinos and Jeannine Christofilis, of Seattle ($1,000 each); Vancouver developer David Lugliani and his McIntosh Ridge PRD ($1,000 each); Steve Oliva, the former owner of Hi-School Pharmacy and a principal investor in the Vancouver waterfront development; Matt Olson, president of Robertson & Olsen Construction, Inc. and his company, R&O Construction ($1,000 each); Kokusai Semiconductor President Rob Bernardi and Bev Bernardi ($1,000), of Vancouver; and Jenny Wu of Camas; and
• $10,480 in small contributions of $100 or less from at least 85 individuals

As of Oct. 26, Hogan had spent $22,431 on campaign materials that included 300 yard signs, nearly 30 larger campaign signs; a fundraising event at Feast in downtown Camas; nearly 10,000 fliers, postcards and other campaign literature; and $300 for social media posts through Lacamas Magazine.

Jennifer Senescu: Hogan’s opponent in the Camas mayoral race, Jennifer Senescu, a Camas native who heads the Camas-Washougal Chamber of Commerce and co-owns the downtown Camas Gallery with her mother, Marquita Call, has raised $27,505 in cash and in-kind campaign contributions, including:

• $2,018 from herself;
• $4,000 from former Clark County Councilor David Madore, and his wife, Donna Madore, both of Vancouver;
• $3527 in cash and in-kind contributions from former Republican state legislator Liz Pike ($527), her company, Pike Advertising Agency ($1,000) and her husband, Neil Cahoon ($2,000)
• $3,693 in cash and in-kind donations from Senescu’s mother, Marquita Call, of the Camas Gallery, and Dennis Call;
• 57 percent of Senescu’s total campaign contributions ($15,734) came from non-Camas residents.
• $8,627 from Camas residents (other than Senescu), including $6,000 from four people — Cahoon; Jeffery Reese of Riverstone Chevron; Joshua Tyler, publisher of Giant Freakin Robot; and Christopher Foster, of Lacamas Financial Group — plus the Pike Advertising Agency’s $1,000 in-kind donation
• $3,166 in small donations of $100 or less, from 39 individuals.

As of Oct. 26, Senescu had spent $17,565 on campaign materials, including more than $11,000 on mailers, fliers, postcards and associated postage costs; about $1,500 on signs and sign supplies; $530 on website design; and nearly $1,500 in in-kind contributions from Marquita Call and Liz Pike for “food and drink” and “wine and cake.”

CAMAS CITY COUNCIL

Several of the candidates vying for seats on the Camas City Council in the Nov. 2 election have filed as “mini-filers” with the Public Disclosure Commission, meaning they intended to raise and/or spend less than $5,000 on their campaigns.

Those who have filed as “mini-filers” include: Martin Elzingre and Tim Hein, who are both competing for the Ward 2, Position 2 council seat; and Marilyn Dale-Boerke, who is running against Gary Perman for the Ward 1, Position 2 seat.

Just two of the six candidates have filed contributions and expenditures with the PDC — Perman and Ward 3, Position 2 candidate Leslie Lewallen

Leslie Lewallan: As of Oct. 26, Lewallen had a total of $26,785 in campaign contributions, including:

• $8,500 from herself and her husband, Brian Lewallen;
• $4,000 from former Clark County Councilor David Madore, and his wife, Donna Madore, both of Vancouver;
• $1,000 from the Washington Association of Realtors;
• $6,540 from Camas donors
• $11,745 from donors outside Camas, including $2,900 — 16 percent of Lewallen’s donations that did not come from herself or her husband) from donors living outside the state of Washington and the Portland metro area

Gary Perman: As of Oct. 26, Perman had raised $18,973, including:

• $8,000 from himself;
• $4,000 from Vancouver businessman and former Clark County Councilmember David Madore and his wife, Donna Madore;
• $3,100 from former Republican state legislator Liz Pike, the Pike Advertising Agency and Pike’s husband, Neil Cahoon;
• $4,700 (43 percent of Perman’s donations that did not come from his own funds) from contributors living outside the city of Camas;
• $50 from current Camas City Councilmember Shannon Roberts; and
• Three contributions smaller than $100, including the $50 donation from Roberts, a $50 donation from a Washougal resident and a $10 donation from a Camas resident

Three-fourths of the money contributed to Perman’s campaign ($14,000) comes from four people: Perman, David and Donna Madore and Neil Cahoon.

As of Oct. 26, Perman had spent $21,567.74 on his campaign, the majority of which Perman spent to create fliers and campaign signs and pay for their associated material, printing and postage costs, plus: $300 for an advertisement in Lacamas Magazine, $550 for internet consulting with Plus6 Solutions and $93 for bumper stickers.

WASHOUGAL CITY COUNCIL

Just one of the candidates running in Washougal’s city council and mayoral races has filed with the PDC as a full-filing candidate.

As of Oct. 26, Washougal City Council candidate Christopher de la Rocha has raised $2,200, including:

• $100 from himself;
• $1,000 from Mary Hargrave, of Washougal;
• $1,000 from Katie and Ryan McDonald, of Washougal; and
• $100 from John Donahue, of Washougal

As of Oct. 26, de la Rocha had spent a total of $1,396.34, which included the cost of 100 yard signs, one large campaign sign, web design and 500 pieces of campaign literature, fliers and postcards.

CAMAS SCHOOL BOARD

All four of the candidates vying for seats on the Camas School Board have filed with the Public Disclosure Commission as “mini-filers” for the Nov. 2 election, meaning they intended to raise and/or spend less than $5,000 on their campaigns.

WASHOUGAL SCHOOL BOARD

Three of the four candidates vying for seats on the Washougal School Board have filed with the Public Disclosure Commission as “mini-filers” for the Nov. 2 election, meaning they intended to raise and spend less than $5,000.

Washougal School Board candidate Sadie McKenzie, who is competing for incumbent Donna Sinclair’s board seat, did not file as a “mini-filer.” As of Oct. 26, McKenzie had raised a total of $4,300, including:

• $1,000 from Mary Hargrave, of Washougal;
• $500 from Republican state Sen. Lynda Wilson (17th District);
• $150 from Margaret Tweet, of Camas, an outspoken opponent of vaccines;
• $100 from former Washougal City Councilman Brent Boger;
• $1,400 from non-Washougal residents;
• Of the $4,300 McKenzie has raised for her campaign, the majority — 70 percent — is from just five people: Hargrave; Sen. Wilson; Shannon Cannon, of Medford; and Christopher and Julia Hickey, of Washougal.
• Nine people donated between $100 and $200 to McKenzie’s campaign. Only 3 percent of McKenzie’s total donations were less than $100.

One week before the Nov. 2, McKenzie had reported spending $2,755.11 of her campaign funds, including $1,272 for signs and sign materials; $180 for photos for the Voters Pamphlet; $530 for a website and $150 for 15 campaign t-shirts.

PORT OF CAMAS-WASHOUGAL

All three of the candidates vying for seats on the Port of Camas-Washougal Board of Commissioners have filed as “mini-filers” with the Public Disclosure Commission, meaning they intended to raise and/or spend less than $5,000 on their campaigns.