To say Kristi Fulnecky took her Springfield City Council race seriously would be an understatement.
Attorney and business owner Fulnecky far and away raised more money than any other candidate, according to the most recent reports available with the Missouri Ethics Commission, and she wasn’t afraid to pull out the big guns. Fulnecky counted national political consultant Rick VanderKolk, who has worked on the race for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, among the team who helped secure her General Seat C victory.
She also hired Kristy Nelson, Drury University’s director of marketing for the College of Continuing and Professional Studies, to help guide the campaign expenditures.
“I really wanted to give it my best effort and spend money with as much local media as possible,” she said.
Fulnecky’s campaign raised roughly $82,000, she said. According to her quarterly report filed with the MEC on April 14, she had generated over $69,000, besting her initial goal of $50,000. MEC spokeswoman Glenda Elliott said final election reports are due May 7.
Incumbent Mayor Bob Stephens’ $17,005 was a distant second in amount raised through the April 15 quarterly reporting deadline.
Spending per voteContributions to Fulnecky dwarfed her opponent’s $555 reported though mid-April. Len Eagleburger raised less than any other Springfield candidate in the general election. However, Eagleburger collected more votes per dollar than any other 2015 candidate; he spent about 6 cents per vote.
The money earned Fulnecky, who owns construction management firm Fulnecky Enterprises LLC, 65 percent of the votes. With 16,810 votes, she spent roughly $4.87 per vote.
Contributors to her campaign during the most recent filing period include attorneys David Agee and Joe Carmichael, $500 each, and O’Reilly Automotive executive David O’Reilly, $1,000.
Eagleburger received a $50 donation from Zone 3 candidate Mike Schilling.
Schilling, a former state representative, appears to have had a strong push in the final week of the campaign in the southwest Springfield district over incumbent Jerry Compton. On March 31, he reported $3,190, and his quarterly report shows a $12,225 tally. Compton raised $11,045 through the end of March and had not filed his quarterly report by press time. One other city candidate, Steven Reed, also missed the April 15 reporting deadline. In the race for mayor, Reed had raised $2,247 through March 31, about $15,000 behind Mayor Stephens.
On the issues side, the hotly contested Question 1 would have gone to One Springfield, dba No Repeal SGF, if money chose the winner. The No Repeal group pulled in just under $200,000, according to MEC filings. According to Yes on Question 1 Treasurer Mike Tull, supporters of the repeal raised $67,000 through election day. The repeal passed with 51.4 percent of the vote.
Yes on Question 1 spokesman Calvin Morrow said support from area churches helped the group win the day.
“We appealed to church leaders throughout the community,” Morrow said, estimating up to 25 percent of area churches responded by delivering messages of support to their congregations, including the 12,000 people who gather weekly at James River Assembly in Ozark.
Bang for the buckWith the council candidates, political newcomer Justin Burnett, department head for Mardel Christian & Educational Supply Inc., arguably got the most out of the money he raised. Through March 31, Burnett raised $2,746, which is some $5,000 less than Ken McClure, who ran unopposed. Burnett was victorious over local attorney and Rountree PTA President Josh Mareschal and Buckley “Buck” Van Hooser, who pulled in more than $12,000.
Burnett said he was able to garner over $5,000 in all. He spent more than $2,000 on mailings, and the rest went to media sources, including Facebook and Community Free Press. Otherwise, Burnett said he did the old-fashioned door-to-door campaigning.
“That’s where I got a lot of input from citizens,” he said. “We didn’t have the largest campaign budget, so I just tried to be as efficient as possible.”
On the spending side, it appears Fulnecky was the only candidate to reach a couple of businesses.
Digital Print Ink President Steve Counts said Fulnecky was his only client this municipal election, which is par for the course. The latest filing shows she spent $2,616 with Digital Print Ink for 1,000 yard signs.
“Comparing it to a year when people run for either Congress or state seats,” Counts said, “we’ll usually do jobs for three to four different candidates or issues.”
Bryan Jones, a sales account executive with Lamar Advertising in Springfield, said Fulnecky was the company’s only billboard client in town. He said municipal elections typically produce small potatoes in terms of revenue – about 5 percent of what national elections that include presidential and congressional candidates generate. Fulnecky spent $2,100 on two Lamar signs; she had eight billboards in all.[[In-content Ad]]
