[poll id=”30″]Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

In mid-August voters will receive their primary election ballots. Before the primary election occurs it is time to look at the candidates for the Barrel and Ocotillo district council seats. Since there are two candidates for the Ocotillo and Barrel district seats, it is likely that these district elections will be decided in the Primary Election. This is the important election for Glendale voters. This Primary election will also narrow state legislative and congressional candidate choice to one Democrat and one Republican to face off in the November election.

All candidates whether they are running for local or some other office within the state are required to periodically file a committee campaign report. The schedule for this year is:

  • 2018 1st Quarter report (covers Feb. 25, 2018 to March 31, 2018) due between April 1st and April 15th, 2018
  • 2018 2nd Quarter report (covers April 29, 2018 to June 30, 2018) due between July 1st and July 15th, 2018
  • 2018 3rd Quarter report (covers Aug. 12, 2018 to Sept 30, 2018) due between Oct. 1st and Oct. 15th, 2018
  • 2018 4th Quarter report (covers Oct. 21, 2018 to Dec. 31st 2018) due Jan. 1st and Jan. 15, 2019

This is a new state reporting system that began shortly after my last run for office in 2016. At that time all candidates were required to terminate their existing campaign committees and to reform their committees under the state’s new reporting system.

The 2nd quarter reports have not been put online yet by the City Clerk’s office as the last day to file them was July 15, 2018. As soon as they are posted I will provide an update on the candidates’ filings.

All of the information in this blog is publicly available through the City Clerk’s office. Since the city has implemented a new software computer operating system citywide finding the campaign finance reports is no longer as user friendly. Here’s the drill:

  • On the city’s main page of its website on the left side of the page choose “City Clerk
  • On the next page on the left side choose “Public Document Search
  • A list will come up in the middle of the next page. Choose “Elections
  • A block will come up labeled “Content”.  From the drop down menu choose “Campaign Finance Records-Finance Report
  • A second block underneath is labeled “Committee Type.” From the drop down menu choose the name of any single candidate’s committee.
  • All current filed campaign reports will come up. Choose the report you wish to view.
  • If you wish to print out any report, you must save as a pdf and make sure pop ups are not blocked in your browser.

Whew! That’s really friendly to you, the user, isn’t it? To make your life a little easier I’ve already gone through the relevant campaign finance reports for Bart Turner and Ray Strahl, Barrel district candidates; and Jaime Aldama and Emmanuel Allen, Ocotillo district candidates. At this time I have chosen not to report on Tolmachoff as she is running unopposed in the Cholla district. I viewed the 4th quarter of 2017 reports and the 1st quarter of 2018 reports.

Barrel District Bart Turner: Mr. Turner’s 4th quarter 2017 report shows a campaign committee balance of funds of $942.53. He filed a “No Activity” report for November and December, 2017. His 1st quarter report of 2018 shows receipts of $950.00. The three contributors to his campaign in the 1st quarter of 2018 are:

  • Jessica Koory at $300
  • Bruce Heatwole at $150
  • Klaus Bolle at $500

He had no campaign expenses thus far. He began his 2nd quarter reporting period with $1,892.53.

Barrel District Ray Strahl: Mr. Strahl’s first report is the 1st quarter report of 2018 since he formed his campaign committee a month or so ago. He collected $8,600 in campaign donations. His four contributors are:

  • Mark Myer at $6,350
  • Ronald McClure at $1,000
  • Kevin Dang at $1,000
  • Nicholas Simonetta at $150

His expenses were typical for any campaign:  a little over $2,000 in food for volunteers, petition canvassers and domain name and website hosting. He began his 2nd quarter reporting period with $6,343.29.

As you can see, Strahl the challenger for the Barrel district council seat, has raised more money in this first quarter report. But it’s early in terms of finance reporting. There are still 3 more quarters and a final report to be submitted. Most politicians wait as long as they can to report the major sources of their contributions. Revealing who some of their contributors are could prove problematical in some cases.

In my next blog we’ll take a look at the finance reports of Aldama and Allen, running for the Ocotillo district seat. After that, expect further blogs on more campaign finance reports and the positions of the candidates on major issues in Glendale.

© Joyce Clark, 2018         

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