City's 12th District candidates spending big

Money is flowing in the race for the City Council's 12th District.

Incumbent Aron Wisneski and challenger Joey LeGath have raised the most money among candidates for city office this spring, according to the March 24 campaign finance reports.

Wisneski, finishing his first term, raised $2,959 year-to-date and has over $2,000 to spend in the closing days of the election. He had the most individual contributions of all candidates, receiving donations from 16 individuals.

LeGath, who owns three bars, raised $6,295 year-to-date and spent $2,562.06 through March 24, leaving him over $3,700 to spend before Tuesday's election. LeGath gave his own campaign $4,000.

Ken Lumpkin has spent $2,278 so far in his race with Jim Kaplan for the council's Fourth District. Kaplan has spent $174.50 so far. Lumpkin and Kaplan are also running for the County Board.

Troy Johnson has spent $1,775 in a race for the Ninth District seat vacated by Pete Karas. His opponent, Terry McCarthy, has spent $223.53. Johnson and Wisneski had several donors in common on their reports.

And, challenger Jameel Ghuari is outspending Bob Anderson in the Second District. Ghuari has raised and spent $791, nearly five times as much as Anderson.

Local candidates are required to file a pre-election campaign finance report with the City Clerk by March 24. Another report is due after the election.

Here's a recap of each candidate's campaign finance report:

District 2

Bob Anderson

Contributions - $200
Expenses - $169.76
Balance - $30.24

Jameel Ghuari

Contributions - $791.67
Expenses - $791.67
Balance - $0
* $30 contribution from Donnie Snow

District 4

Jim Kaplan

Contributions - $418.28
Expenses - $174.50
Balance - $243.78
* $100 contribution from the First District GOP

Ken Lumpkin

Contributions - $2,278
Expenses - $2,278
Balance - $0
* Campaign finance report filed three days late

District 6

Sandy Weidner
* Reported no campaign activity

District 8

Q.A. Shakoor II
* No report filed; expected to file no campaign activity

District 9

Terry McCarthy

Contributions - $300
Expenses - $223.53
Balance - $81.47

Troy Johnson

Contributions - $1,775
Expenses - $317.25
Balance - $1,457.75
* 16 contributions

District 10

Tom Friedel
* Reported no campaign activity

District 12

Aron Wisneski

Contributions - $2,959
Expenses - $893
Balance - $2,066
* Citizens for Helding gave Wisneski $100

Joey LeGath

Contributions - $6,295
Expenses - $2,562.06
Balance - $3,739.94
* $200 from the Wisconsin Peoples Conference

District 14

Ronald Hart
* Reported no campaign activity

UPDATE: Ghuari running for City Council

UPDATE: Ghuari is running for council, along with several other challengers to incumbents. In all, five of the eight elections for City Council are contested, so far. There are no primaries, so far. The deadline to file is Jan. 2 at 5 p.m. Here's the list:

SECOND DISTRICT
ROBERT L. ANDERSON, 1638 S. MAIN STREET,
JAMEEL GHUARI, 1700 S. WISCONSIN AVE.

FOURTH DISTRICT
JAMES E. KAPLAN, 400 KEWAUNEE STREET
KENNETH LUMPKIN, 1646 EAST STREET

SIXTH DISTRICT
SANDY J. WEIDNER, 2310 THOR AVENUE

EIGHTH DISTRICT
Q.A. SHAKOOR, 1516 W. 6TH STREET

NINTH DISTRICT
TERRENCE A. McCARTHY, 317 WEST BLVD.
TROY W. JOHNSON, 1571 MARIA STREET

TENTH DISTRICT
THOMAS FRIEDEL, 1904 DWIGHT STREET
CHARLI WALTER LEROY SMITH, JR., 2312 WEBSTER STREET

TWELFTH DISTRICT
ARON WISNESKI, 1025 ARTHUR AVENUE
JOSEPH LEGATH, 1423 HICKORY WAY

FOURTEENTH DISTRICT
RONALD D. HART, 4420 REPUBLIC AVE.

Old post:

We're hearing from people that Jameel Ghuari, head of the Bray Center in Racine, has taken out papers to run for City Council. Ghuari would run in the city's second district, which is currently represented by first-termer Robert Anderson.