How McLean came to have nearly $100K more in cash on hand in the Boise mayoral race
City Council President Lauren McLean reported having almost $100,000 more on hand than Mayor David Bieter, her opponent in the runoff election, with less than a week to go until Election Day.
Campaign finance reports submitted Tuesday show that McLean entered the runoff season the day after November’s election with $90,488 while Bieter had $55,174. McLean then outraised him by nearly 57% during the 11 days that followed.
From Nov. 6 to Nov. 17, McLean raised $57,879 to Bieter’s $32,270.
But Bieter spent more, primarily on wages and promotional material, including advertisements. He spent $52,378 to McLean’s $14,155.
That means McLean had more than three times as much money midmonth as Bieter, $133,712 vs. $35,001, a major advantage in a runoff race that is only four weeks long.
Bieter may be narrowing the gap, though: Special, short-notice reports of donations since the 17th, covering only donations of $1,000 apiece — the maximum allowed — show Bieter with 25 such donations and McLean with two.
Here’s what the reports say:
Bieter’s money
Bieter’s donations came mostly from businesses, including developers, and most were from Boise. Some came from political action committees, including $1,000 from the Boise Firefighters PAC and $1,000 from the Teamsters union’s Drive PAC. Only five of the 80 donations (or 6.3%) were from out-of-state donors.
Bieter counts local political figures among his donors, including former Boise City Council Member Ben Quintana and former Democratic gubernatorial candidate A.J. Balukoff. He also reported donations from Geoff Wardle, a local lawyer who, among other clients, represents Greenstone Properties, the Atlanta developer looking to build a new sports park in Boise.
McLean’s money
McLean received donations from 246 people, three times as many as Bieter, through the 17th. Forty-six (or 18.7%) came from out-of-state donors, including several from the Washington, D.C.-area and one from an address that appears to be an American embassy in Argentina.
Some of her donors include Jodi Peterson, executive director of Interfaith Sanctuary; Jim Conger, president of development firm Conger Group; and several members of Boise Working Together, the community group that put the library and stadium initiatives on the ballot in November.
More campaign finance reports will come. Candidates must keep filing reports on $1,000 donations within 48 hours of receipt. Reports from every candidate who was on the November ballot, covering Oct. 21 through Nov. 15 are due Thursday, Dec. 5. Reports from Bieter and McLean covering only the rest of the runoff period, Nov. 18 through Dec. 13, are due Jan. 2. Candidates also must submit annual reports covering the whole year by Jan. 31, 2020.
The runoff is Tuesday, Dec. 3. Early voting is underway.
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 4:17 PM.
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