Follow the Money Some More, Part Four

Today, we look at self-financing. Which MoCo candidates give themselves the most money? Let’s find out.

Total Receipts from Self (Includes Loans)

1. Mike Lenett, Senator (D-19): $364,352
2. Ben Kramer, Delegate/County Council Challenger: $220,450
3. Sam Statland, Delegate Challenger (D-18): $202,860
4. Rob Garagiola, Senator (D-15): $149,428
5. Ike Leggett, County Executive: $125,000
6. Jeff Waldstreicher, Delegate (D-18): $121,442
7. Rona Kramer, Senator (D-14): $105,000
8. Dan Fox, State’s Attorney Challenger: $102,500
9. Tod Sher, Delegate (D-14): $100,830
10. Robin Ficker, County Executive/Council Challenger: $91,272

Percentage of Total Receipts from Self (Includes Loans)

1. Steve Kanstoroom, County Council Challenger: 98.2%
2. Robin Ficker, County Executive/Council Challenger: 93.8%
3. Ben Kramer, Delegate/County Council Challenger: 89.1%
4. Sam Statland, Delegate Challenger (D-18): 82.3%
5. Mike Lenett, Senator (D-19): 79.1%
6. Dan Fox, State’s Attorney Challenger: 72.7%
7. Alec Stone, Delegate Challenger (D-19): 64.0%
8. Jeff Waldstreicher, Delegate (D-18): 58.9%
9. Cary Lamari, County Council Challenger: 54.5%
10. Lucinda Lessley, Delegate Challenger (D-20): 54.1%

Twenty tied at 0.0%

Kumar Barve, Delegate (D-17)
Leon Billings, Delegate (D-18)
Shirley Brandman, School Board
Bill Bronrott, Delegate (D-16)
Jane de Winter, County Council Challenger
Dana Dembrow, Delegate (D-20)
Bob Dorsey, County Council Challenger
Valerie Ervin, County Council
Jennie Forehand, Senator (D-17)
Henry Heller, Delegate (D-19)
P.J. Hogan, Senator (D-39)
John Hurson, Delegate (D-18)
Steve Joseph, County Council Challenger
Cheryl Kagan, Delegate/Senate Challenger (D-17)
Nancy King, Senator (D-39)
Pat O’Neill, School Board
Ida Ruben, Senator (D-20)
Sally Sternbach, County Council Challenger
Len Teitelbaum, Senator (D-19)
Becky Wagner, County Council Challenger

Politicians do not spend vast sums of their personal money on their own races unless they have to. And most of our leaders were in very competitive races. Rob Garagiola beat incumbent Republican Senator Jean Roesser in his first race. All of the other top ten in total self-financing receipts ran for open seats. First-time candidate Mike Lenett got 52% of the vote against two incumbent Delegates in the 2006 District 19 Senate primary. Ben Kramer, Robin Ficker, Dan Fox, Sam Statland, Tod Sher and Dana Beyer share a common distinction: they are the only candidates in recent MoCo history to spend $70,000 or more of their own money on a losing race.

Here’s an estimate of receipts from family members. We included people who shared a surname or a residence with a candidate, or lived in the same residence with another person who did.

Total Receipts from Family (Includes Loans)

1. Duchy Trachtenberg, County Council: $52,150
2. Rob Garagiola, Senator (D-15): $49,562
3. Tod Sher, Delegate (D-14): $41,780
4. Susan Lee, Delegate (D-16): $35,566
5. Jeff Waldstreicher, Delegate (D-18): $25,200
6. Anne Kaiser, Delegate (D-14): $22,926
7. Nancy Navarro, School Board/County Council: $21,565
8. Karen Montgomery, Delegate (D-14): $18,830
9. George Leventhal, County Council: $18,184
10. Rich Madaleno, Senator (D-18): $17,022

We do not credit the result for Susan Lee, given the fact that “Lee” is a common surname in the Asian community.

Total Receipts from Self and Family (Includes Loans)

1. Mike Lenett, Senator (D-19): $365,052
2. Ben Kramer, Delegate/County Council Challenger: $222,050
3. Sam Statland, Delegate Challenger (D-18): $204,991
4. Rob Garagiola, Senator (D-15): $198,990
5. Jeff Waldstreicher, Delegate (D-18): $146,642
6. Tod Sher, Delegate (D-14): $142,610
7. Ike Leggett, County Executive: $130,865
8. Duchy Trachtenberg, County Council: $114,150
9. Dan Fox, State’s Attorney Challenger: $112,751
10. Rona Kramer, Senator (D-14): $110,639

We’ll look at geography in Part Five.