Saturday, Nov. 05, 2011

Apex candidates get diverse support

Small donations are common; three get PAC money.

Three of the five candidates running for Apex Town Council have accepted contributions from political action committees.

Margo Bills received $1,000 from the N.C. Association of Realtors PAC and John Lynde received $500 from Build PAC, of the National Association of Realtors.

Scott Lassiter got $250 from DRIVE, the political fundraising arm of the Teamsters.

Political action committees work to raise and fund campaigns for candidates who would be likely to support their issues once elected. However, the amounts donated by these PACs represent a small portion of Lynde and Bills contributions.

Both have raised more than $5,000, the bulk of which has come from individual donors.

Bills said she does want to bring more business to Apex but that doesn't mean her agenda and the agenda of the N.C. Association of Realtors PAC clash.

"They've got the same goal," she said. "Ultimately the more businesses that come to Apex, it increases the quality of life of residents who can live and work here and increases property value and attracts more people who want to live in Apex."

Bills said she wouldn't allow the PAC's agenda to influence her.

"I will vote for what's best for Apex," she said.

The Teamster's PAC looks to elect candidates who "stand up to big business interests," according to their website.

Lassiter said the Teamsters agenda is to support the working man and skilled labor. As a Republican and the offspring of a blue-collar family, Lassiter said he could relate to that. Also, the donation from DRIVE has more to do with personal relationships than political agenda, he said.

"I think that speaks volumes about my campaign that a strong left-leaning democratic group as well as the conservative party have both thrown support behind me," Lassiter said.

As of the most recent filings, candidates for Town Council each collected less than $10,000.

Lynde, has raised $8,137.21 so far, according to the Wake County Board of Elections. Lynde's largest contributor was Horace Johnson, a retired executive for Sedagri Corporation who gave $750.

Bills, who is running for a second time, has collected $5979.88. Outside of the PAC, Bills herself is the largest contributor to her campaign.

She has paid $602.73 into her election fund including in-kind contributions for filing fees. Joseph Iannone Jr. of JVI Construction also tops her list of donors, giving $500.

Lassiter is also running for the second time, but this is the first time he has filed campaign disclosure reports. In 2009, when he ran for Apex Town Council he said he remained under the $3,000 reporting threshold, which covers spending and collections.

This year he raised $5,390. One of his contributors is House Majority leader Paul "Skip"Stam who donated $150. Lassiter is funding the rest of his campaign himself, giving $4,000 to his election fund.

Not all candidates have raised large amounts this election.

Darren Eustance, a public policy consultant, has raised $840 to date, according to county records.

Incumbent Councilman Bill Jensen, who is running for one of the two open seats, also collected less than $1,000 and has not filed a report.

Candidates who spend or collect less than $1,000 do not have to file campaign finance reports.