Provo race a costly one

Mary Bailey said she believed their campaign has been just that. She estimated they put up 2,000 lawn signs, 50 large signs and as many as 100,000 flyers.

"I feel very comfortable in what we did and how we did it," she said. "We didn't have a paid staff, they were all just volunteers — people looking for a change."

Reports filed with other Utah County cities were substantially less than the daunting dollar levels found in Provo.

In Orem, Dean Dickerson, an incumbent seeking re-election to the City Council, won the "big spender" award, shelling out almost $2,700 for flyers, signs and printing costs.

He said he was shocked he spent the most, and said he probably spent less this year than when he ran for city council four years ago.

This time, Dickerson purchased one billboard ad, several newspaper inserts, almost 250 signs, and close to 10,000 flyers. He said he also reused some of the signs from his last campaign.

"The biggest thing I've always pushed for is to be accessible," he said. "I've really really pushed that this time and to do that you've got to have your name out there, and that's reflected in the costs."

Dickerson also included the $300 he spent on gas driving around the city to post signs in his campaign expenses. No other Orem candidate itemized gas as an expenditure.

On the opposite end of the spectrum was council candidate Kelvin Clayton, who has spent only $35 on his campaign — and that was the city-required filing cost.

"My feeling is, if I'm going to be a representative of the citizens of Orem, I think I should be very conscientious of the money that's being expended," he said. "We shouldn't be spending money unnecessarily."

Clayton said he also wanted to remain impartial and not accept donations from groups or companies that might try to sway his opinions.

Because he hasn't posted any signs or put up any billboards, Clayton is relying on word of mouth to spread the message.

The two Orem mayoral candidates have spent less than $1,500 combined on their campaigns. Incumbent Jerry Washburn has spent almost $600 on brochures, newspaper ads and lawn signs, with no listed donations.

Competitor David Workman listed a dozen or so small contributions ranging from $9 to $100, and has spent close to $820 on envelopes, postage, printing supplies and yard signs.

In Springville, incumbent mayor Gene R. Mangum raised $4,863. Most donations are in the hundreds, except for $1,000 from Wing Enterprises.

His challenger, Christine M. Tolman, has received $3,000 in contributions. That's almost $600 less than what City Council candidate Mark William Packard has spent on his campaign — $3,577. Packard's largest contributor was Excel Graphics in Provo, at $1,150.