From Deseret News archives:
Mayor candidates rake in $$
Former City Councilman Keith Christensen has brought in the most money and in-kind donations of any of the seven candidates, according to campaign finance reports filed with the city recorder's office Friday.
His $508,499 is more than double the money raised by his nearest competitor, County Councilwoman Jenny Wilson, who has brought in more than $241,000.
"It's a broad base of support," said Christensen, a Republican who has the backing of Mayor Rocky Anderson, a Democrat. "That's what's exciting for me. It's not a group of Republicans or a group of independents or a group of Democrats doing this. It's the entire community. I hope it means the community wants a mayor who will represent everyone."
Wilson's second-place showing is a gain over the last reporting period, which ended Feb. 15. Then, Wilson was in third place behind City Councilman Dave Buhler. At the end of this most recent period, Buhler now is in third place, with more than $216,000 raised to date.
"We've had a good amount of support come in, and I'm proud that we've been able to get a lot of people come in and give very low-dollar contributions and then also have been able to get some support from people at a more substantial level," Wilson said.
For his part, Buhler isn't worried about the third-place showing. He said that his contributions have largely been smaller amounts and come from several hundred people.
"We're on track with where I want to be. I'm very gratified with the support I'm receiving," he said. "That kind of deep support is very gratifying and important to the success of the campaign."
He also touts that, despite having raised less than Wilson, he has also spent less and has more cash on hand.
"I try to be careful," Buhler said. "I learned a long time ago, whatever you don't spend you don't have to raise."
Fourth-place fund-raiser Rep. Ralph Becker, D-Salt Lake, who is the current House minority leader, has raised more than $176,000 so far. In a written statement, Becker said his campaign is "on target to meet the full range of campaign needs" and touted the broad base of donors he has culled.
The last reporting period fell during the legislative session, and Becker had pledged not to collect any money during that session. No law prohibits a lawmaker from collecting campaign money while making laws, but Becker said he wanted to avoid it on ethical grounds.
His post-legislative fund-raising efforts haven't pushed him ahead in the pack: He was in fourth place in February.
