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Primary winner spent less than opponents
(by Joseph Koziol Jr. - June 22, 2011)
Primary winner spent less than opponents
By JOSEPH KOZIOL JR.
While money has become entrenched in today's multimillion-dollar political campaigns, it apparently was not the deciding factor in the May primary to choose which Republican candidate for Chardon Municipal Court judge would go on to the general election in November.
The Republican primary that pitted Daniel Bond, Dennis Coyne and Matthew Lynch showed that candidates can do a lot with relatively little. Mr. Lynch, who won the race, spent nearly half of what the other candidates did, according to records from the Geauga County Board of Elections.
According to pre- and post-election campaign finance reports, Mr. Lynch spent $23,397, compared to $41,051 for Mr. Bond and $47,374 for Mr. Coyne. The reports have yet to be audited for accuracy by the board of elections.
How the candidates raised those funds also differed among the candidates.
Mr. Lynch ran his on his own money, loaning his campaign $24,000, while raising around $1,650 from contributions, according to the records.
Mr. Coyne, on the other hand, supplemented his campaign with a $10,100 loan but used three fundraisers to provide another $39,845, records showed.
Those fundraisers drew from the Geauga County Democratic Party chairman, a local newspaper editor, a congressman and local attorneys, politicians and developers, according to the records.
Mr. Bond relied heavily on personal loans, securing $37,500 from Betty Jane Roberts, whom he listed as his spouse, according to the records. He raised another $3,785 in contributions, holding one fundraiser, the reports show.
Mr. Bond may have been the most generous with his campaign money, in terms of charitable donations, giving $665 to Leadership Geauga, $100 to the Totally 4-H Dog Club and returning a $500 raffle prize to the Chagrin Falls VFW, Post 12067, according to records.
Mr. Coyne made the most of his connections, drawing donations from notables in the community.
Among Mr. Coyne's contributors, according to records, were Geauga County Prosecutor David Joyce, Geauga County Commissioner William Young, Geauga Common Pleas Court Judge Forrest Burt, Geauga Democratic Chairman Joseph Weiss Jr., newspaper editor John Karlovec, Chardon businessman and developer Rollin Cooke III, Geauga County Treasurer Christopher P. Hitchcock, Solon Councilman Lon Stolarsky, U.S. Rep. Steven LaTourette, Chardon Mayor Philip King and Geauga County Police Prosecutor James Gillette.
Chardon attorneys were also contributors, including Robert Wantz, Pearce Leary, Ed Brice, Todd Hicks and David Ondrey, records show.
Mr. Bond also received assistance from local politicians and attorneys in his campaign. Among his contributors were Geauga County Coroner Kevin Chartrand, Newbury Township Trustee David Snively and local developer Jerry Petersen. Local attorneys contributing to his campaign were Mr. Leary, Mr. Brice, Dennis Ibold, Joseph Svete and Mary Bender.
Mr. Lynch's campaign, which relied heavily on his own money, drew few donations, one being a $100 contribution from Bob Cannon, who ran last November for a seat in the Ohio House of Representatives.
Mr. Lynch said part of the reason that his campaign spending was considerably less than his opponents was that he started it later than the others.
One of his largest expenses was for billboards around the county, for which he spent $3,378. Mr. Lynch said those were "very effective" in getting his name out before the public. "They certainly had an impact," he said.
Mr. Lynch had brought a complaint against Mr. Coyne for campaign literature that boasted Mr. Coyne had the support of every police chief in Geauga County. Although he did not use the issue in his literature, Mr. Bond did send a mailer which questioned Mr. Coyne's character on the issue.
Mr. Lynch said he was not sure that had a large impact on the election. He said many of the people he spoke with were unaware the issue had even been raised.
Mr. Lynch said it was simply his message that he would be a hard worker who was strong on supporting constitutional rights.
He said his campaign had a informal motto: "Giving people a reason, not a resume" to vote for him. He said he believed his opponents failed to give voters a reason to vote for them.
Like his campaign for township trustee, Mr. Lynch said, he seeks the support from the general public.
"I've always sought my support among the average people," he said. "That's why I won."
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