Ward 3 Des Moines Council Candidates Raise $300,000

DES MOINES, IA — The three-way race for the open Ward 3 Des Moines City Council seat drew more financial support than any other metro-area race in the upcoming municipal election, with two of the candidates taking in $300,000 collectively since beginning their campaigns. The Ward 3 councilman will represent an area that includes downtown and southwestern Des Moines.

By comparison, the two candidates running for an at-large seat on the council — which functions to represent all parts of the city — together collected just over $76,000.

The Ward 3 seat is being vacated by Christine Hensley, who has held the position for 24 years and announced in April that she would not run again. Earlier that month, Josh Mandelbaum became the first candidates to announce his intent to claim the seat. Mandelbaum is making his first run for the city council.

Mandelbaum's campaign has raised $188,240, according to a disclosure report filed Thursday with the Iowa Ethics and Campaign Disclosure Board.

Candidate Michael Kiernan, who previously served five years on the council and is making a bid to return, has raised $112,265 in the race, according to the report his campaign filed.

Abshir Omar Mahamed, the third candidate in the Ward 3 race, did not file a report by Thursday’s deadline.

___________________________

Earlier: 3 Running For Open Ward 3 Seat, 2 Vie For At-Large Seat

___________________________

Kiernan’s 24-page report shows he received donations totaling $95,165 and additionally took out loans for $17,100. He had spent $105,940 as of the filing, received in-kind contributions of $1,581 for lease of a campaign headquarters space, and he owed $3,546 for fees incurred at fundraising events and a dinner and meet-and-greet event with the Southwestern Hills and Watrous South neighborhood associations.

He spent $10,000 each in August and September on services that included “consulting, field work and fundraising” and more than $48,000 on television, digital and print advertising. Approximately $25,000 was spent for fliers and printed campaign materials.

Mandelbaum’s campaign filed a 48-page report showing he raised $188,240 and spent $157,725. He had in-kind contributions amounting to $1,630 from seven people who held fundraisers on his behalf.

His largest expenses by far — $138,653 — went to consulting services, which his report breaks down as $19,245 for digital consulting, $66,876 for direct mail, $21,000 for fundraising, $5,150 for research, $17,200 for polling, and $9,182 for a TV consultant.

In the at-large race, challenger Connie Boesen reported donations totaling $43,683 and expenses of $20,685. Incumbent Skip Moore collected $32,755 and had expenses of $28,363. He had $4,400 in in-kind donations, including $500 for a campaign kickoff funded by Michael Gartner and $3,900 work of campaign fliers and signs by John Sayles. Boesen reported no in-kind donations.

The reports list multiple pages of donors and amounts from $1 to $5,000. They list individual, business and political action committee contributions. Contributions of $2,000 or more made in a single donation are listed below; numbers in parentheses represent the number of donations made in that amount to the candidate, according to the disclosures filed.

Ward 3 Race

Kiernan

• $5,000: William C. Knapp, Teamsters Local 90, James S. Cownie, Iowa Realtors PAC.
• $2,500: Michael Krantz, Michael Simonson (2), Jack Hatch, Michael and Mary Whalen, James Conlin (2), William C. Knapp, James S. Cownie,
• $2,000: David and Cathy Fegley.

Mandelbaum

• $5,000: Great Plains Laborers’ District Council Iowa PAC, Laborers’ PAC, Nancy Lauridsen, Bob Riley, Fred Hubbell, Norman Mandelbaum (3), Central Iowa Building and Construction Trades Council PAC, Nixon Lauridsen.
• $2,500: Dennis and Molly Smith, Robert Sand, Herb and Kathy Eckhouse, Michael Gartner (2), Fred and Emily Weitz (2), Christine Sand, Trudy Hurd, Michael Mandelbaum, Roxanne Conlin, Douglas Moore, Harry and Pam Bookey.
• $2,400: Jeremy Fields.
• $2,000: Jill Mandelbaum, Police Officers for Good Government.

At-large Race

Boesen

$5,000: Roxanne Conlin, Iowa Realtors PAC.

$2,000: Ron Grubb.

Moore

$5,000: Laborers Local 177.

$2,500: Local Union No. 347 IBEW PAC Fund, Great Plains Laborers' District Council Iowa PAC.

$2,000: Police Officers For Good Government.

Image via Pixabay