Spending low for school-board candidates

For the 2012 election, the presidential candidates have raised nearly $1 billion each. Congressional candidates average into the low millions.

But some Peoria Unified school-board candidates competing for three seats in the Nov.6 election raised less than $500.

The top fundraiser, board incumbent Eddie Smith, totaled $3,019 with money rolled over from his 2010 election campaign. Incumbent Joe McCord raised more than $2,000.

All figures are based on the Sept. 27 campaign-finance filing. The latest figures won't be available until later this week.

Most of the cash has gone to the usual campaign expenditures, such as signs, fliers and robocalls.

Despite low donations and spending, some have raised concerns about outside influence from unions and political parties in local elections.

Peoria school-board candidate Peter Pingerelli questioned accepting money from unions, businesses and organizations, noting that it might affect future board decisions.

Campaign-finance records show that Pingerelli raised nearly $350 from individual donors, but Pingerelli noted that he has received almost $1,000 to date for signs and fliers.

Of the $2,000 McCord received, $400 came from the Peoria Education Association, a teachers union that frequently donates to board candidates. So far, he has bought a website, signs and fliers.

McCord rebutted the perception of favoritism: "The people who give me money think I'm doing a good job. I'm not swayed one way or the other by contributions."

Although Smith has not raised funds this go-around, he received $9,110 in the previous election. More than $7,100 came from firefighter unions. Smith is a Glendale firefighter.

This year, Smith expects to spend most of his roughly $3,000 in rollover funds on robocalls to registered voters.

To save money, Pingerelli, Tracy Livingston and Matt Bullock split the cost of a flier advertising them as a Republican slate. In a recent teachers candidate forum, they drew criticism for running along party lines in a nonpartisan race.

"I'm very disappointed that they're making it into a political race," said Carol Lokare, a Democrat running for District 21 in the state House of Representatives. "There's no Republican way to teach a kid how to write. There's no Democrat way to teach a kid how to write."

Aside from the flier, records show the candidates have not shared any other costs. None has received any financial support from the Republican Party.

The candidates said that if elected, they will not vote in lockstep, citing their varied positions on issues such as Proposition 204 and the district bond issue.

"We probably talked and e-mailed maybe five times total," said Bullock, who has raised less than $1,000 from small donors and personal funds. That money mostly has gone to paying for websites, fliers and signs, he said.

Livingston is funding her campaign, spending less than $500 on a website, robocall, fliers and business cards.

Although historically candidates have not run along party lines on the school-board level, Kim Fridkin, a political-science professor at Arizona State University, said it makes sense for candidates to play up party affiliation.

"They need to be pretty confident that that party will help them and not hurt them," Fridkin said.

Newcomer Bill Bercu has bought about 100 small signs but said he is trying to avoid spending any more money.

"I want to keep it under $500," Bercu said. "To me, (money is) not the way to go. It's service."

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