CONGRESS Wealth plays a role in race

The Republican incumbent raised more than $500,000 in three months.
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-14th, bemoans the fact that Capri Cafaro, his Democratic challenger, is wealthy and has no qualms about spending as much money as she needs to defeat him.
Though LaTourette, of Concord Township, complains, he found the time to raise $566,116 between April 1 and June 30 for his own re-election campaign.
Including the money his campaign had before March 31 and minus the $137,500 he spent during the year's second quarter, LaTourette is sitting on $1,113,677 as of June 30. That is, by far, the largest campaign war chest of any member of Congress representing the Mahoning and Shenango valleys and their challengers.
LaTourette's contributors
Of the $566,116 he raised during the year's second quarter, LaTourette collected $334,522 from individuals, and the rest from political action committees.
LaTourette received $5,000 contributions each from the International Longshoremens Association of New York City, the Ironworkers Political Action League of Washington, D.C., the National City Corp. PAC of Cleveland, the Ohio Republican Party of Columbus, and the UPS PAC.
"When you scare incumbents, they become very good at raising money," said John Green, director of the University of Akron's Ray C. Bliss Institute of Applied Politics.
Cafaro, of Hunting Valley, Ohio, and formerly of Liberty, raised $396,235 during the year's second quarter, including $292,200 she contributed herself between April 1 and June 30. Overall, she has given $503,760 of her own money to the campaign, most of it, $486,200, in loans.
Also, several officials with the Cafaro Co., where her father, J.J., is executive vice president, contributed $21,700 to her campaign. Among the Cafaro officials contributing to her campaign are her father; her uncle, Anthony, who is president of the company; and her aunt, Flora Cafaro.
Her father and uncle each gave $4,000 -- $2,000 for the election and $2,000 to retire primary campaign debt -- while her aunt gave $3,000, $2,000 for the election and $1,000 to retire primary debt. If a campaign has primary debt, it is permitted to accept money over the $2,000 limit for individuals in an election cycle to retire that debt, according to the Federal Election Commission.
Also, Renee, Cafaro's sister, contributed $20,385 to the campaign, most of it for expenses, and is technically a loan. Mike Cook, Cafaro's spokesman, said the FEC permits Cafaro's sister to front the money for the expenses as long as she is reimbursed, something that will appear on her next finance report.
"She's raising what she needs to win," Cook said. "That's the whole point. It's a contest. It's going on all over the country. They're both working hard to raise money. She's ready to raise as much money as LaTourette down to the penny."
Cafaro's donors
Among Cafaro's more prominent donors are Youngstown Mayor George M. McKelvey, who gave $950; state Sen. Marc Dann, who gave $250; state Rep. Sylvester D. Patton Jr., who gave $2,000; Alan M. Levin, owner of the Mahoning Valley Scrappers baseball team, who gave $1,000; former Mahoning Democratic Chairman Don L. Hanni, who gave $1,000; 2002 Democratic gubernatorial candidate Tim Hagan, who gave $500; and Geoffrey S. Mearns, the attorney for Cafaro and her father, who gave $250.
Her report shows she spent $94,502 during the second quarter, but she also incurred $186,450 in debts and obligations to herself and her sister.
The 14th District includes seven northern townships in Trumbull County.
Those running for Congress in the November general election had until Thursday to file campaign finance reports for the year's second quarter, April 1 to June 30, with the FEC.
In the 17th District, U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan, a Niles Democrat, spent more than he collected during the year's second quarter. He brought $133,928 into the second quarter, and as of June 30, he had $131,989 in his fund.
Most of the $41,375 he raised between April 1 and June 30 came from PACs. The committees gave $29,500 to Ryan with the rest coming from individuals.
Ryan's expenses
As has been the case during the past few filing periods, his major expense is payments for "fund-raising consulting" fees to Fraioli and Associates of Washington, D.C., operated by Michael Fraioli, his campaign treasurer. Ryan gave about $14,000 to the company during the second quarter. Since Oct. 1, Ryan's campaign has paid about $45,000 to the company.
Frank V. Cusimano, a Howland Republican challenging Ryan in the November election, didn't file a report with the FEC by Thursday's deadline. He listed a campaign fund balance of $1,232 as of March 31 in a prior report.
The 17th District includes portions of Mahoning and Trumbull counties.
In the 6th District, U.S. Rep. Ted Strickland, a Lisbon Democrat, increased the amount of money in his campaign fund during the second quarter going from $312,332 on March 31 to $327,620 on June 30. He faces a write-in candidate in the general election. The 12-county district includes Columbiana County and a portion of Mahoning County.
In Pennsylvania's 4th District, which includes Lawrence County and a portion of Mercer County, U.S. Rep. Melissa Hart, a Bradford Woods Republican, holds a huge financial advantage over her Democratic opponent, Stevan Drobac Jr. of Center Township.
Hart had $420,564 as of June 30, while Drobac had $1,822 in his campaign fund.
In the state's 3rd District, which includes a portion of Mercer County, U.S. Rep. Phil English, an Erie Republican, had $527,383 in his fund as of June 30. Steven Porter of Wattsburg, Pa., his Democratic opponent, reported a campaign fund balance of $26,265 as of June 30.
skolnick@vindy.com