Finance reports detail cost of getting elected
by Brent Shrum, Kootenai Valley Record
December 11, 2008
House District 1 winner Jerry Bennett was Lincoln County’s big spender in the 2008 election season, shelling out a total of $18,777.50 according to campaign finance reports filed with the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices.
Bennett spent $4,429.71 in the June Republican primary, in which he drew 1,051 votes to Susan Ague’s 171, Ginny Emerson’s 88 and Albert Ross Purviance’s 61. Reported expenses included $1,812.26 for a bulk mailing and $1,600 for signs.
For the general election, in which he defeated Democrat Eileen Carney, Bennett spent $14,347.79. Expenses included $9,410 for five separate mailings, $1,123 for cards and brochures, and $1,102.23 for signs.
Bennett received 2,413 votes in the general election to Carney’s 1,491, resulting in a cost per vote of $5.95.
Carney was unopposed in the primary and spent less than $300. She spent $7,254.08 in the general election, resulting in a cost per vote of $4.87.
Carney’s reported expenditures included $1,034.78 in newspaper advertising and $3,211.60 in radio ads.
In the race for House District 2, victorious Republican incumbent Chas Vincent spent $8,767.91 to Democratic challenger Tim Linehan’s $10,829.27.
Both candidates were unopposed in the primary. In the general election, Vincent drew 3,240 votes for a cost per vote of $2.70, while Linehan spent $6.55 for each of the 1,653 votes he received.
Vincent’s expenditures included $1,229.16 for signs, $3,549.45 for newspaper advertising, $832 for radio ads and $2,025.75 in printing costs.
Linehan spent $3,551.30 for signs, $2,765.69 for newspaper ads, $1,665 for billboards and $792.63 for printing and postage.
Tony Berget, who won a six-way race for the Republican nomination for county commissioner in June and went on to win in November against write-in candidate Jerry Okonski, spent $5,130.16 in the primary and another $2,933.27 in the general election.
Berget’s primary expenses included $2,054 in newspaper ads, $988 for radio ads, $918 for signs and $310.80 for mailings. His 765 votes cost $6.70 each.
Berget’s reported expenditures for the general election included $1,664.66 for newspaper ads and $840 for postage. He drew 5,433 votes for a cost of 54 cents per vote.
Okonski spent $2,075 in the primary and finished second with 723 votes for an average cost of $2.87 per vote. Reported expenditures included $475 for signs and $572.40 for radio ads.
Okonski spent $9,122 in the general election. Reported expenditures included $3,552.43 in printing and mailing costs, $1664 for newspaper ads, $405.90 for radio ads and $1,123.55 for signs. His 2,422 votes cost him $3.77 each.
The overwhelming majority of the dollars spent by local candidates came in the form of contributions from individuals and political action committees capped at $160 per candidate per election under state law. Bennett and Vincent also received $800 each for the general election from the county Republican central committee, which is the maximum allowed for a political party under the same law. Berget received $400 from the party committee for the general election.
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Editor’s Note: See the December 9, 2008 edition of the Kootenai Valley Record for the printed version of this story. The Kootenai Valley Record publishes once a week, now on Tuesday, in Libby, Montana. They are a locally owned community newspaper, located at 403 Mineral Avenue in Libby. For in-county and out-of-county subscription information, call 406-293-2424, or e-mail kvrecord@gmail.com.
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