Scottsdale City Councilwoman Suzanne Klapp has the early financial advantage in the 2020 race for Scottsdale Mayor.
Scottsdale City Councilwoman Virginia Korte who is also running for mayor as well as candidates for three council seats up for election this year are still ramping up their fundraising efforts, it appears.
That is according to fourth quarter campaign reports filed with the city of Scottsdale.
Klapp raised an impressive $104,900 during the fourth quarter of 2019 for her run for Scottsdale mayor and has $106,354 cash on hand, according to the new filings. Klapp had $2,804.08 cash on hand before the fourth quarter.
Klapp’s contributors include some prominent business and real estate development names. Developer Wayne Howard hosted a fundraiser for Klapp in December, according to the Scottsdale Progress.
Bob and Renee Parsons (YAM Development), John Carlson (Mark-Taylor), Les and Diane Corieri (Evening Entertainment Group), David Hovey (Optima Inc.), Jim Pederson (Pederson Group), Josh Simon (Simon CRE), Lee Mashburn (Pivot Group / Papago Plaza), Tom and Jane Frenkel (Clayton Companies), Michael Lieb (Lieb Ltd) and Karrin Taylor (Arizona Strategies) are among Klapp’s financial backers
Executives from apartment developer Wood Partners as well as zoning attorneys Nick Wood, Stephen Earl, Jason Morris and Tim LaSota also show up as donors on Klapp’s campaign finance report.
Korte who officially launched her campaign Jan. 15 reported her mayor exploratory committee raised $28,600 during the fourth quarter.
Korte’s contributors also include some business and real estate executives including Tim Wolff and Joseph Petkunas (Wolff Company), David Hovey (Optima Inc.), Jim Mahoney (Trammell Crow), Charles Theisen (Mercedes-Benz of Scottsdale) and Shane Albers (1784 Capital Holdings).
Korte spent $36,248.75 in the fourth quarter on her mayoral exploratory campaign but also had $43,926.02 on hand before the quarter. That leaves Korte with $30,163.27 cash on hand.
Korte and Klapp are running to succeed Scottsdale Mayor Jim Lane who is term limited.
Real estate development, building heights, density and parking are all prime issues in Scottsdale, especially in the Old Town area.
Scottsdale City Council candidates are just starting to get moving with fundraising and a number of them have seeded their campaigns with personal loans and self-funding.
Becca Linnig raised $11,302.48 during the fourth quarter mostly via $10,000 she loaned her campaign. Linnig, a REALTOR, has $4,235.50 cash on hand.
John Little raised $19,335 and has $8,820 on hand, according to his fourth quarter campaign finance filing.
Little’s donors include Marty De Rito (De Rito Partners), Rebecca Grossman (Scottsdale Area Association of Realtors), Jon Ryder (Run to Win Campaigns) and Jim Derouin (Derouin Environmental Law).
Little has also loaned his City Council campaign $700.
Incumbent City Councilman Guy Phillips raised $1,840 (mostly through a $1,090 personal loan to his campaign). He has $1,793.33 on hand for his reelection bid.
Betty Janik, one of the leaders of the Coalition of Greater Scottsdale (COGS), raised $2,213.31 in the last quarter of 2019 (all self-funded) and has $2,000 cash on hand.
Thomas Durham raised $1,329,99 (almost all self-financed) and has $1,200 on hand for this council bid so far. Michael Auerbach, who unsuccessfully ran for council in 2014 and has had some odd legal complications with dogs, raised $3,800 during the fourth quarter (including $700 of his own money) and has $966.33 on hand, according to campaign finance reports.
Tammy Caputi, Kevin Maxwell and Taylor Van Parys have filed campaign paperwork for Scottsdale City Council but did not report any fourth quarter campaign contributions or spending.