October 28th, 2010
Finance reports show candidates close in funds

San Marcos mayoral candidates Daniel Guerrero, left, and John Thomaides, right. File photos.

By ANDY SEVILLA
Associate Editor

San Marcos mayoral candidate Daniel Guerrero has raised the most money in the two campaign finance reports leading to the Nov. 2 election, but his opponent, Councilmember John Thomaides, has spent the most money.

Political candidates are required to file finance reports 30 days before an election and eight days before an election. The eight days out report was due to San Marcos City Hall on Monday. The 30-day report was due on Oct. 4.

An analysis of each campaign finance report by San Marcos Local News reveals discrepancies in the totals reported by the campaigns — small discrepancies in Thomaides’ case and much larger discrepancies in Guerrero’s case.

On the bottom lines, the campaign finance reports add up to say that Guerrero has raised $23,864.95 and spent $20,739.83. However, the Guerrero campaign claims it still has $13,396.10 on hand, even though, according to the last report he filed before this election cycle, which he filed in 2008, Guerrero had no cash on hand entering this campaign.

The audit, gathered by adding the specific contributions and expenditures on both reports and comparing them with the reported bottom lines, shows wide discrepancies with the bottom lines as reported by Guerrero. According to the audit, Guerrero has raised $29,024.97, spent $16,834.83 and should have $12,190.14 cash on hand.

Thomaides began the campaign with $18,378.79, which he reported as his cash on hand as of his July 15 report. Since then, the bottom lines on the two most recent reports add up to $16,355 in contributions, which, added to his July 15 cash on hand, adds up to $34,733.79. The two reports say, on the bottom lines, that Thomaides has spent $30,813.83. Subtracting bottom line expenses from bottom line contributions, Thomaides should have $3,919.96 left. Thomaides claims $3,369.96 in remaining cash.

Part of the $550 discrepancy is a $350 in-kind contribution by Theodore and Thea Dake of San Marcos. In-kind contributions are counted as contributions, but they are not counted as expenditures. The other $200 is a discrepancy from the Oct. 3 report, which includes an advertising expense entry from Lowe’s without a total for that expenditure. Guerrero reported no in-kind contributions.

The audit shows that Thomaides is accurate in his accounting of his fund raising at $16,355, which, added to his July 15 cash on hand, gives him a stake of $34,733.79, which is the total from his reports. The audit shows that Thomaides has spent $30,737.08, meaning he should have $3,996.71 remaining, rather than the $3,369.96 he reported Monday. Of that difference of $626.75, $350 is the in-kind contribution from the Dakes.

The largest single contribution, or contributor, to either candidate is the San Marcos Professional Fire Fighters Association (SMPFFA) PAC, which made a $4,000 contribution to Guerrero. Another $2,500 went to the Guerrero campaign from Paul J. Bury III of Austin. Guerrero also has received $2,000 from TREPAC/Texas Association of Realtors. No other contributor to Guerrero has given him as much as $1,000.

All told, Guerrero has raised $9,360 from outside of San Marcos, compared with $4,350 in out-of-town contributions for Thomaides. Guerrero has received a total of $7,834.57 in contributions of $50 or less, compared with $1,205 in contributions of $50 or less for Thomaides.

No contributors to Thomaides have given him as much as $2,000. The Dakes have been Thomaides’ largest contributor, providing him with a total of $1,850. James and Diana Baker of San Marcos have contributed a total of $1,800 to Thomaides, while Ed and Bonnie Longcope of San Marcos, Willie Thomas of San Marcos and Jim Wimberly of Austin each have contributed $1,000.

Thomaides’ greatest expenditure is $16,890 to The Thompson Group of Little Rock, AK, for advertising. Thomaides also has spent $4,726.70 with Paragon Printing of Austin for printing, $2,838 with the Victory Store of Davenport, IA, for printing and $2,800 with Advanced Customer Service of Nashville for polling.

The biggest beneficiary of the Guerrero campaign is Patterson Company of Austin, to which the campaign has paid $7,881.39 for advertising. The campaign also has spent $6,432.87 with Sign-Arts of San Marcos.

Though the most recent report was due Monday, the San Marcos city clerk’s office did not receive Guerrero’s report until Wednesday at 4:55 p.m.