Hagan in debt despite raising most funds

By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR POLITICS WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Robert F. Hagan raised and spent more than the other candidates in his failed attempt to win the Youngstown mayoral race, going so far as to put his campaign in debt.
Hagan, a Democratic state senator, spent $178,477 during the general election campaign. He spent about $120,000 to win the Democratic primary.
Jay Williams, who quit as the city's Community Development Agency director to successfully run for mayor as an independent, ended up spending $142,632 on the campaign.
Post-general election finance reports had to be filed Friday with county boards of elections showing financial activity from Oct. 20 to Dec. 9. Hagan spent $62,234 during the post-general election period compared with $39,849 for Williams.
In all, the two spent $321,109 during the general election for a seat that pays $101,387.02 annually.
Fund-raising
Hagan raised $139,076 between June 4 and Oct. 19. On his pre-general election report, Williams showed he raised $104,852.
In the weeks leading up to the Nov. 8 election, Hagan and Williams had both said they expected to report raising about $30,000 to $40,000 on their post-general election reports.
Hagan had proved in the primary and pre-general election to be a very capable fund-raiser. But he raised only $18,072 from Oct. 20 to Dec. 9. Williams more than doubled that, raising $37,825.
Williams would have raised less than Hagan had it not been for a $20,000 contribution on Oct. 21 from Mahoning County Republican Chairman Clarence R. Smith of Boardman.
Robert Korchnak, the Republican nominee for the seat, raised no money in the post-general election time period and received $525 in in-kind contributions from the county Republican party.
None of the individuals or political action committees contributing at least $1,000 to Williams or Hagan on the reports filed Friday is from Youngstown.
The Realtors Political Action Committee of Columbus gave the two candidates $1,030 each.
How money was spent
Of the amount Williams spent during the post-primary time period, $9,017 went to Keynote Media Group, a Youngstown company, for media services and consulting. Williams' campaign had paid $52,500 to the company in the pre-primary time period.
Williams also spent $1,380 to rent the Chevrolet Centre for his election victory party, $1,381 for food at the party, and $750 for the Youngstown jazz band SounDoctrine to perform at the event.
Williams paid $75 each to 52 people to be poll workers on Election Day, and $50 to 47 people to go door-to-door urging voters to support him on the same day.
With all his expenses, Williams has only $800 left in his campaign war chest.
But that's significantly better than the condition of Hagan's campaign fund.
Hagan spent more money than he had, and the fund is $3,342 in debt.
Scott Daisher, the Mahoning election board clerk in charge of campaign finance reports, said a campaign is not permitted to have a deficit. The campaign treasurer must report the shortfall as either an outstanding debt or loan if a miscalculation wasn't made, Daisher said.
Hagan paid $4,500 to his wife, Michele Lepore Hagan, to be his campaign treasurer. Of that amount, $2,500 went to his wife Nov. 17, nine days after the general election defeat.
Hagan also paid $2,000 to his brother James L., according to his campaign report, with $1,500 for being his communications director and $500 as a consulting fee.
Two other candidates in Mahoning County -- Lawrence J. Moliterno, a failed Boardman trustee candidate, and Brian J. Macala, a failed Campbell Municipal Court Judge candidate -- also reported campaign deficits.
Hagan's biggest post-general election period expense was $32,900 to Two Ticks and the Dog, a Warren company that handled his media advertising and consulting.
Hagan paid $55,000 to the company for the same services during the pre-general election period.
Hagan's campaign also contributed $3,000 to Friends of Marc Dann. Dann, a state senator, is running next year for attorney general.
skolnick@vindy.com