As the May 20 Republican primary election nears, some candidates running to fill the four Cherokee County School Board seats up for election this year chose to spend hefty sums on campaign consultants, while others chose to focus their campaign funds on the basics.
Candidates are required to file campaign disclosure reports, declaring finances associated with their races for the public to see, which were published online at voter.cherokeega.com.
Some candidates chose to finance their own campaigns, while others have garnered thousands in campaign contributions — both large and small.
One candidate shows thousands in campaign expenditures going to a new political consulting firm, created in February and run by embattled long-time political consultant Robert Trim. Another candidate in District 3 spent thousands on a Cobb County consulting firm.
District 3
In the District 3 School Board race between John Harmon and Brett Ladd, Harmon brought in the most money in contributions from outside sources, while Ladd had the most money to work with after lending himself money for the campaign.
As of March 31, Harmon had garnered $3,190 in campaign contributions, including $1,000 from a
company he owns, and had $550.21 in cash on hand, after $2,639.79 in total expenses to date.
Harmon’s largest campaign contribution of $1,000 was listed under H and J Foods LLC, which is the company Harmon owns and operates.
Other large contributions to Harmon’s campaign came from Wayne and Jeannette Harmon, who gave $500, Mika and Anne Davis, who gave $150 and John Konop, who gave $100 in cash and $300 in an in-kind contribution.
Harmon also received more than $1,200 in separate contributions of $100 or less as of the March 31 deadline for reporting contributions, the report showed
Ladd listed $12,716 in total cash contributions as of the March 31 deadline, with $6,378 in cash on hand after $5,978 in expenditures.
On Ladd’s disclosure report, he listed a $216 cash contribution to himself using a Canton address, and a $1,425 in-kind contribution to himself for three months of rent, phone and Internet, using a Woodstock address.
The bulk of Ladd’s campaign funds, $12,500, was funds the candidate loaned to himself.
When it comes to campaign expenses reported up until March 31, Harmon spent the largest sums of his campaign money on signs and yard signs, spending $1,351 total.
Other expenses for Harmon include his qualifying fee, website renewal ($120), car magnets ($245), push cards ($246) and T-shirts ($305).
Ladd’s largest expenditures went to 2g Strategies LLC, a consulting firm, totaling more than $5,000.
Based on the disclosure report, Ladd gave the firm $2,475 for equipment, software, database and mailing lists. The firm also helped Ladd with political consulting, to the tune of $1,500.
Other expenses Ladd listed as going to the firm include: printing and campaign materials ($970) and a voter database ($158).
He also spent $875 on printing and yard signs, the disclosure shows.
Ladd was listed as the chair of his campaign committee, with Amy Hernandez acting as treasurer. Harmon listed Carol Taylor as the committee chair for his campaign, and Lauren Harmon as his treasurer.
District 6
When it came to campaign expenditures, Tlacil spent the bulk of her funds with The Strategic Integration Alliance LLC, a business that registered with the Secretary of State’s Office in February this year.
Trim is listed as the sole owner of The Strategic Integration Alliance, Secretary of State’s Office records show.
Trim, who is also the political consultant for District 1 School Board member Kelly Marlow, has been a controversial figure for years. He is now facing felony charges for lying to police, along with Marlow and the secretary for the Cherokee County GOP, Barbara Knowles.
Tlacil listed $4,643.43 total expenditures to date, with the bulk of that money going to Trim’s business.
With Strategic Integration Alliance, Tlacil spent $3,000 for business cards, photography, lapel stickers, yard signs and consulting, and another $500 on T-shirts and magnets.
Other listed expenditures for Tlacil’s campaign included $500 to INKO Creative Imaging for logo and website development, and her $216 qualifying fee.
via Cherokee Tribune – BoE candidates financials show price of politics.
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