43
McNally outraises Kitchen 5-1 in Youngstown mayor’s race
YOUNGSTOWN
In the Youngstown mayoral race, Democrat John A. McNally IV outraised DeMaine Kitchen nearly 5-to-1 during the pre-general -election filing period.
Candidates running in the Nov. 5 general election had until Thursday to file campaign finance reports for either June 8 (for those who ran in the May primary) or July 1 (for those who didn’t) and Oct. 16.
During that time, McNally raised $55,305 in campaign contributions compared with $11,810 for Kitchen, an independent candidate who serves as the mayor’s chief of staff/secretary.
Kitchen also received $5,250 in in-kind contributions to pay for billboards and a payment to Keynote Media, a Youngstown company handling his campaign’s advertising and public relations.
Kitchen came into this filing period with $143 in his campaign fund, while McNally, a former Mahoning County commissioner and Youngstown law director, had $28,002 in his war chest, left over from his 142-vote victory over Youngstown Council President Jamael Tito Brown in the Democratic primary in May.
McNally raised $131,854 in that primary compared with $41,096 for Brown.
McNally picked up where he left off with the $55,305 he raised between June 8 and Oct. 16. That amount is more than any other candidate running for office in Mahoning County.
McNally also spent more than any other candidate in the county, using $50,336 of his campaign money in the pre-general-election period primarily for radio and television commercials, yard signs and mailers sent to the homes of city residents.
In comparison, Kitchen spent $11,204, most of it for billboards and for Keynote.
As of Oct. 16, McNally had $33,310 to spend compared with $749 for Kitchen.
Meanwhile, the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 396 of Boardman, the organization funding the effort to defeat the anti-fracking charter amendment in Youngstown, spent $74,449 between June 8 and Oct. 16.
The money goes toward media advertisements, campaign mail and telephone calls in an effort to defeat the amendment.
Under state law, corporations or labor organizations that support or oppose ballot issues can file what is called “independent expenditures” reports that list only how much is spent.
In comparison, the Community Bill of Rights Committee, the lead group supporting the ban, raised $2,329 and spent $693 between June 8 and Oct. 16.
A similar Youngstown charter amendment was defeated in the May primary, 56.85 percent to 43.15 percent.
In the primary, the union spent $60,767 compared with $7,502 for the anti-fracking committee.