Candidates still ironing out St. Paul mayoral finance reports

Published Friday, February 2, 2001

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Candidates still ironing out St. Paul mayoral finance reports

Kevin Duchschere / Star Tribune

A day after the first campaign finance reports of the election season were due, there was some confusion Thursday about who was ahead in the race for dollars in St. Paul's mayoral contest.

Wednesday's reports seemed to suggest that Randy Kelly was ahead of Bob Long in terms of money raised through Dec. 31. Kelly's report listed contributions of $25,523, while Long's report showed $24,068.

But on Thursday, Kelly campaign manager Matt Bowe said that Kelly's amount also included contributions received in January. The campaign treasurer listed all money raised because the report form asks for "Total to Date," he said.

The Kelly campaign actually raised $5,980 through Dec. 31, Bowe said.

Other campaigns have informally reported raising tens of thousands of dollars in January. But those figures won't be officially released until the next campaign finance report is due in early September.

Kelly is a DFL state senator and Long is an attorney and former City Council member. Both are declared candidates.

City Council Member Jay Benanav, who is expected to officially announce his candidacy next week, said Thursday that recent history suggests the mayoral campaign will get expensive. But the money should be beside the point, he said.

"What we're looking at here is having enough money to run a credible, viable campaign -- not being the guy who has the biggest bankroll," Benanav said.

Mayor Norm Coleman raised nearly $1 million in his reelection bid in 1997, while DFL state Sen. Sandy Pappas raised nearly $220,000 in an unsuccessful attempt to defeat him.

But Coleman used the mayoral race as a dry run for his statewide campaign for governor, and Benanav said that he expects this year's candidates will more closely match Pappas' fund-raising effort.

Also Thursday, Bobbi Megard, a political consultant and former City Council member, announced that her campaign raised $6,149 through Dec. 31.

City Council President Dan Bostrom, who entered the race Wednesday, said that his campaign did not file a report because it raised no money in 2000.