Valley donors give Edwards a boost

Sen. John Kerry has raised the most money in the Mahoning Valley this year.
& lt;a href=mailto:skolnick@vindy.com & gt;By DAVID SKOLNICK & lt;/a & gt;
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- U.S. Sen. John Edwards raised the most money among 2004 presidential candidates from Mahoning Valley residents during the year's third quarter.
Edwards, D-North Carolina, raised nearly all of the $17,900 he received from Valley residents during a Sept. 26 private fund-raiser at the Canfield house of Elizabeth Bernard, an attorney.
Bernard contributed $3,900 toward Edwards' campaign, the most of any Valley resident to a presidential candidate.
But the contribution exceeds the $2,000 maximum contribution an individual can give to a presidential campaign during the pre-primary season, according to Federal Election Commission rules. The FEC will probably require Edwards to return $1,900 of Bernard's contribution to her.
The breakdown
Also contributing money to Edwards, a former trial lawyer who is leaning heavily on attorneys nationwide to fund his campaign, from the Valley were:
*Atty. Michael Harshman, Bernard's law partner, who gave $2,000. Harshman previously gave $1,000 to U.S. Sen. John Kerry, another Democratic 2004 presidential candidate.
*Atty. William Ramage, Bernard's other law partner, who gave $500.
*Atty. Michael Morley, a Mahoning County Board of Elections member and former county Democratic chairman, who gave $500.
*Bruce Zoldan, chief executive officer of B.J. Alan Co. and a prominent local political contributor, who gave $2,000.
*Fred Martin, president of Fred Martin Ford, who gave $1,000.
Kerry, D-Massachusetts, still leads Democrats in terms of raising money from Valley residents even though he didn't raise any between July and September from local donors, according to his latest campaign finance report filed with the FEC. Kerry raised $26,350 from Valley residents during the first six months of the year.
Bush
President Bush raised $26,300 from Valley residents, only $50 less than Kerry. Among his contributors during the year's third quarter were: Leo S. Grimes, a nursing home administrator and a former Girard City Council president, who gave $500; Richard S. Sokolov, Simon Property Group president and chief executive officer, who gave $2,000; and his wife, Susan, who also gave $2,000.
Ohio, a key state for Bush when he won the presidency in 2000, has been good to him this year. As of Sept. 30, Bush received more than $3 million in campaign contributions from Ohio residents, about half of it between July 1 and Sept. 30. That is by far the most money raised by any 2004 presidential candidate in Ohio. Also, it is the sixth-most from a state toward Bush's re-election effort.
LaRouche
Lyndon H. LaRouche Jr., a perennial presidential candidate, has the third-highest amount of money raised from Valley contributors among Democrats running next year for the nation's highest office. LaRouche raised $1,590 from two Valley donors: Alan T. Pucell of Youngstown, who gave $1,000, and Audrey L. Solnick of Bristolville, who gave $590.
LaRouche has raised a respectable amount from Ohio contributors compared to others running for president -- $57,810 compared with U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Cleveland, whose raised $55,975 in his home state, and Kerry, who raised $63,900 in Ohio.
None of the other Democratic candidates have raised more than $1,000 from Valley contributors.
Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean and U.S. Rep. Richard Gephardt of Missouri each raised $1,000 from Valley donors.
U.S. Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, and retired Gen. Wesley Clark each raised $750 locally. Kucinich raised $250 in the Valley.
& lt;a href=mailto:skolnick@vindy.com & gt;skolnick@vindy.com & lt;/a & gt;