BLOUNTVILLE â In the District 5 Sullivan County Board of Education race, challenger Todd McKinley of Bloomingdale had spent more than double what incumbent Randall Jones of Indian Springs had spent by the end of June.
And in the District 7 county school board race, challenger Donald Thompson of the Bristol area has outspent incumbent Mary Rouse of the Bristol area nearly five-to-one, with Thompson also spending more than McKinley.
Two others on school board ballots, Angie Stanley of Colonial Heights in District 1 and Mark Vicars of Kingsport in District 3, face no competition in the general election, which is Aug. 1 with early voting July 12-27.
Jones and Rouse said they are Republicans but ran as an independents because they donât believe partisan politics should be in school board elections. McKinley is running as a Republican, and Thompson as an independent Republican.
WHEREâS THE MONEY?
In District 5, McKinley has collected more than $5,500 in donations, the incumbent none as of June 30, the reports indicate.
In that race, which included a March 5 three-way primary race for McKinley, both candidates have self-funded their campaigns, but McKinley in the second quarter also took in donations from 39 contributors totaling $5,560.64 as of June 30. Jones reported no contributors other than himself.
McKinleyâs contributions ranged from $1,000 from the Sullivan County Republican Party to smaller ones from former and current county officials, employees of Sullivan and Hawkins counties and a minister.
Both put $4,000 in their campaigns, Jones as contributions and McKinley as loans of which McKinley had repaid $1,000 as of June 30. Also as of that date, McKinley had spent $8,395.55, including the GOP primary, compared to Jones, who did not run in a primary, spending $3,575,09.
In District 7, Rouse donated $4,000 to her own campaign and had spent $1,970.13 as of June 30, while Thompson had spent $9,490 as of June 30 and loaned his campaign $15,600.
Thompson said he ran as a write-in independent because a would-be candidate who picked up a petition but didnât file didnât leave enough time for Thompson to qualify for the March 5 GOP primary.
Thompson reported receipts of $10,200 in the second quarter, with a starting balance of zero. Disbursements of $9,490.10 left a balance of hand of $709.90 with $15,600 total loans outstanding, all of which he reported loaning his own campaign.
MORE JONES FINANCE DETAILS
Jones began his campaign activities with a $1,000 contribution to his campaign Jan. 24, reported in the first quarter statement disbursing $711.79 for an ending balance of $288.21 March 31.
The money went $608.93 to Trident Media of Kingsport for campaign signs and $102.86 to Truist Bank of North Carolina for bank checks.
In his second quarter statement, April 1 through June 30, Jones reported three separate expenditures, $22.17 for domain registration June 10, $967.62 for mailers May 24 and $1,535 for web site design and hosting from Trident Media.
Jones also donated $3,000 to his own campaign during the period, adding to the earlier $1,000 he put in his campaign coffers, and end up with a balance on hand June 30 of $424.91.
Earlier, from Feb. 25 through March 31, listed as the first quarter, he reported a beginning amount of $289.60, receipts of $2,000 and disbursements of $1,208.06 for an ending balance on hand of $81.54. Expenses were $224.92 Feb. 29 and $217.20 March 31 to Meta Platforms Inc. and $765.94 to Mail Works Feb. 29.
MORE MCKINLEY FINANCE DETAILS
McKinley, who won a three-way Republican primary March 5, in a year-end supplemental statement, has challenged whether Jones is a real Republican because Jones is running as an independent.
McKinley reported loaning his campaign $1,000 and spending $228.64 from Jan. 1 through Jan. 31. The money spent was $35.99 to Scotchman of Blountville for a money order to buy voting data from the Sullivan County Election Commission, $111.63 to Thomas McKinley of the candidateâs home address for campaign sign material and $81.03 to Office Depot/Office Max of Kingsport for printed campaign handouts.
For the pre-primary, Jan. 16 through Feb. 24, he reported carrying over the $771.36, receiving $2,150 and disbursements of $6,31.76 for an ending amount on hand of $289.60.
A contribution of $150 came from John Briley of Morristown, an East Tennessee State University professor, Feb. 7. In that period he loaned his own campaign another $2,000.
Expenditures were $300 to Volunteer High School in Church Hill for print services and four payments to Meta Platforms in California for Facebook advertising: $4.62 Feb. 1, $250 each Jan. 22 and Feb. 15 and $52.32 Jan. 30. The rest went to Mail Works Inc. of Johnson City for print and mail services, $1,026.07 Feb. 1 and $748.75 Feb. 16.
All told, he reported donating $5,000 to his campaign from the start and repaying $1,000, leaving an outstanding loan balance of $4,000 as of June 30. His total spending through the primary and up to June 30 was $8,395.66, including $1,000 to repay a loan he made to his own campaign.
For the second quarter, April 1 through June 30, he reported a starting balance of $81.54, receipts of $5,560.64, disbursements of $3,327.20 and an ending balance on hand of $2,314.98.
Contributors during the second quarter included $1,000 from the county GOP, $50 from county public defender Andrew Gibbons, $358.64 from failed District 1 GOP candidate and Hawkins County teacher Carrier Carpenter, $50 from Concordia Lutheran Church pastor Paul Becker, $100 from former school board and current Sullivan County Commissioner Mark Ireson, $75 from county Circuit Court Clerk Bobby Russell, $50 from former Sullivan County Commissioner Bill Kilgore and $500 from the retired Samuel McKinley, with the same address as the candidate.
Also, $100 came from former school board member and former Sullivan commissioner Todd Broughton, $50 from Hawkins County Schools bus manager Roy Benavides of Church Hill, $60 from Sullivan County archivist and county GOP Chairman Matthew Johnson, $25 from former county Commissioner Alicia Starnes and $50 from county Register of Deeds Sheena Tinsley of Blountville, daughter of former Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey.
MORE ROUSE DETAILSRouse in the second quarter campaign financial disclosure statement reported a balance of nothing on hand April 1, receipts of $2,000, disbursements of $1,970 leaving a balance on hand June 30 of 2,029.87.
She reported a May 9 contribution of $4,000 from herself and the expenditures of $1,970.13 on June 26 for signs, mailers and âpush-cards.â
MORE THOMPSON DETAILSThe largest campaign expenditure in the Thompson campaign was $3,200 to Lamar Co. of Atlanta for billboard advertising. His next largest expenditures were $2,242.6 to Mailworks LLC of Johnson City for graphic design and postcard mailers April 4, followed by $1,292.10 to Foster Signs of Jonesborough for yard signs April 10.
Other spending included $892.20 to Mailworks LLC April 12 of Johnson City for graphic design and printing of “pushcards” and business cards April 12, another $459.90 for the same things June 12 and $225 to Beacon Consulting LLC in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for social marketing and Facebook site development. Yet others included $325.90 to PENS.com of Dallas, Texas for promotional pens April 25.
Also reported were three Thompson campaign expenditures of $199 each or $597 total to Ecanvasser for software monthly subscription April 15, May 13 and June 13. The political canvassing phone app is based in Dublin, Ireland.
