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VAIL, Colorado — In the Vail Town Council election, it's not necessarily all about the money.
Five of the nine candidates for the Vail Town Council race spent less than $500 on their campaigns, while two spent thousands, and two others were somewhere in the middle.
The candidates with the most money were Mike Charles and Buddy Lazier, both of whom spent about $5,000 each on their campaigns through the Oct. 30 contribution reporting deadline. Both candidates spent the bulk of their money on consulting services, signs and advertisements.
“I'm putting my money where my mouth is in terms of the campaign,” Lazier said.
Incumbent Kim Newbury has spent about $1,800 — money she raised through contributions. She said without campaign contributions she wouldn't have spent a dime.
“I am a single mom with two kids, basically working two jobs,” Newbury said. “The money I make I spend on my children, not on elections.”
Incumbent Kevin Foley, who has been on the Town Council for 10 years, accepted contributions for his campaign for the first time ever. He said his friends and family were giving him grief about not accepting money, so he did this year. He spent $322 on buttons, and received about $125 in yard signs from his brother and sister-in-law, Dennis and Betsey Foley.
“I figured I'll do it, but I'll keep it real simple,” Foley said.
Incumbent Mark Gordon spent about $800 on designing a logo and printing his signs. He accepted money from various community members, including former mayor Rod Slifer ($500), and Solaris developer Peter Knobel ($500). Newbury also accepted $500 from Knobel, whom she said has no development projects in the works or even in the pipeline to her knowledge, which is why she accepted the contribution.
Gordon said Friday he'd be returning a $500 contribution from a friend of his who donated the money on behalf of a corporation, L.O. Vail Hotel Inc. Cascade. Gordon said he found information buried in his candidate packet Friday that showed he couldn't accept money from a corporation — an oversight on his part, he said. He said he declared the contribution, proving he didn't know he shouldn't have taken it, and would return it immediately.
“I'm obviously going to give it back,” he said.
Candidates Scott Proper and Susie Tjossem lucked out — both candidates also ran for the council in 2007 and kept their signs handy, re-using them instead of having to spend money on new ones. Tjossem reported spending $56 on stamps by the Oct. 30 deadline, while Proper reported spending $36.
Kerry Donovan also kept spending light — she reported spending about $40 on a Web site.
Ludwig Kurz, who reported spending $469 through the Oct. 30 deadline, said he spend money on some signs, a newspaper ad and a list of Vail voters he paid $106 to obtain from the county.
“It's a low-budget election, I think,” Kurz said.
Lauren Glendenning can be reached at 970-748-2983 or lglendenning@vaildaily.com
Five of the nine candidates for the Vail Town Council race spent less than $500 on their campaigns, while two spent thousands, and two others were somewhere in the middle.
The candidates with the most money were Mike Charles and Buddy Lazier, both of whom spent about $5,000 each on their campaigns through the Oct. 30 contribution reporting deadline. Both candidates spent the bulk of their money on consulting services, signs and advertisements.
“I'm putting my money where my mouth is in terms of the campaign,” Lazier said.
Incumbent Kim Newbury has spent about $1,800 — money she raised through contributions. She said without campaign contributions she wouldn't have spent a dime.
“I am a single mom with two kids, basically working two jobs,” Newbury said. “The money I make I spend on my children, not on elections.”
Incumbent Kevin Foley, who has been on the Town Council for 10 years, accepted contributions for his campaign for the first time ever. He said his friends and family were giving him grief about not accepting money, so he did this year. He spent $322 on buttons, and received about $125 in yard signs from his brother and sister-in-law, Dennis and Betsey Foley.
“I figured I'll do it, but I'll keep it real simple,” Foley said.
Incumbent Mark Gordon spent about $800 on designing a logo and printing his signs. He accepted money from various community members, including former mayor Rod Slifer ($500), and Solaris developer Peter Knobel ($500). Newbury also accepted $500 from Knobel, whom she said has no development projects in the works or even in the pipeline to her knowledge, which is why she accepted the contribution.
Gordon said Friday he'd be returning a $500 contribution from a friend of his who donated the money on behalf of a corporation, L.O. Vail Hotel Inc. Cascade. Gordon said he found information buried in his candidate packet Friday that showed he couldn't accept money from a corporation — an oversight on his part, he said. He said he declared the contribution, proving he didn't know he shouldn't have taken it, and would return it immediately.
“I'm obviously going to give it back,” he said.
Candidates Scott Proper and Susie Tjossem lucked out — both candidates also ran for the council in 2007 and kept their signs handy, re-using them instead of having to spend money on new ones. Tjossem reported spending $56 on stamps by the Oct. 30 deadline, while Proper reported spending $36.
Kerry Donovan also kept spending light — she reported spending about $40 on a Web site.
Ludwig Kurz, who reported spending $469 through the Oct. 30 deadline, said he spend money on some signs, a newspaper ad and a list of Vail voters he paid $106 to obtain from the county.
“It's a low-budget election, I think,” Kurz said.
Lauren Glendenning can be reached at 970-748-2983 or lglendenning@vaildaily.com
