S.L. candidates report their fundraising

The challenger outraised the incumbent but couldn't eke out the win.

In one of the tightest races in the state, Lisa Ramsey Adams raised and spent at least $8,000 more than Salt Lake City Councilman Soren Simonsen, according to campaign finance numbers released Thursday.

But despite the money gap, Simonsen pulled out a 12-vote win in District 7.

Simonsen, however, outpaced Adams' fundraising efforts nearly two-to-one in the final leg of the race, bringing his campaign total to nearly $21,000.

Council Chairman Carlton Christensen brought in about $20,000 more than his challenger, Leslie Reynolds-Benns, by Election Day.

Christensen, the veteran west-side politician, saw his largest donations of the period come from the Salt Lake Board of Realtors ($1,250) and the Salt Lake City Firefighters Union ($1,500).

In the Avenues, a victorious Stan Penfold doubled his challenger's fundraising and spending — even at his election-night party. Penfold's campaign ponied up $1,300 of his $26,500 for a celebration at a Capitol Hill restaurant, while his opponent, Phil Carroll, dropped $600 on a party at an Avenues deli.

An unopposed Jill Remington Love, meanwhile, spent nearly $7,500 in her re-election campaign. Love's biggest expenditure was a $1,300 payout to Love Communications for "mailing design."

— Aaron Falk