Salt Lake County Demos are raising cash

Democratic law and order candidates in Salt Lake County are raising a lot of cash to give the Republicans a run for their money in the November election.

Both Sim Gill and Jim Winder, the Democratic candidates for district attorney and sheriff respectively, raised thousands more than their Republican counterparts in the latest financial reporting period, according to disclosure forms due Friday.

Gill has raised $68,600 since June, with Republican Lohra Miller bringing in $13,630 in the same time period.

And in the three months since the last financial reporting deadline, the Democratic candidate for sheriff raised more than double the campaign funds than were raised by incumbent Aaron Kennard. Winder, a Democrat, raised $55,165, while Kennard generated $24,860.

In the district attorney's race, the major candidates are generating money in vastly different ways. Miller is largely taking bigger donations from individuals and private groups, such as Wasatch Plaza Holdings, LLC., which donated prime land downtown for campaign signs, and Sinclair Oil Corp.

Gill, on the other hand, received only a few large donations, with just 14 contributions of $1,000 or more. Most of his money came from individuals donating $250 or less. The donors included housewives, attorneys, truck drivers, doctors, social workers and small-business owners.

To date, Miller has raised a total of $94,340, compared with Gill's $116,615.

Other races are shaping up financially, including some of the ballot propositions.

A political-issues committee called TRAXNOW registered with the elections office Friday with $55,000 in the bank. That money is largely financed by large out-of-state engineering firms. TRAXNOW is supporting Proposition 3, which, if approved, would fund light-rail expansion and possibly commuter rail in Salt Lake County.

Five people are running for the at-large seat on the Salt Lake County Council. To date, incumbent Jim Bradley, a Democrat, has raised $33,195, with Republican Janice Auger bringing in $35,790. Auger is the former Taylorsville mayor.

The three other candidates — Don Johnstun, a Libertarian; Jimmy Cadman, from the Personal Choice Party; and Chuck Tripp of the Desert Greens — do not have any money in their campaign coffers.

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E-mail: ldethman@desnews.com