Laurel Candidate Spending Surges in 2011

The 2011 Laurel City election was the costliest since at least 2006, according to records viewed by Patch.

Campaign spending among nine candidates during the fall election topped $34,000, outpacing numbers from the 2008 and 2006 election combined.

By comparison, $4,450 was spent among the five candidates during the 2008 election. In 2006, more than $10,600 was spent among nine candidates.

Candidates running for office in the state of Maryland are required to submit spending reports to the Board of Election. Patch reviewed documents for all nine candidates running during the most recent election cycle.

Council President Donna L. Carry, running uncontested, spent no money and took in no contributions during the election season. She was the only candidate to do so.

Ward 1 , who reclaimed his seat on the city council, brought in $1,900 in contributions—overwhelmingly from Laurel residents and businesses. Ricks ended his campaign with a net loss of $720, after spending $2,620, according to records. His biggest expenses were yard sign purchases for $641.

Ward 2 Councilman Fred Small, running uncontested, spent $300 during the campaign season and took in $400 in contributions.

Ward 1 Councilwoman Valerie Nicholas, who mounted her first campaign to stay in her seat after a , spent $294 on signage during the election. She did not take in any contributions, according to financial records.

At-large challenger raised $900 during his inaugural campaign. His biggest contributor was the Laurel-based Metro Professional Firefighters Association, which gave him $500. Rousseau was a conservative spender, however, racking up a total bill of $746.

At-large council member Mike Leszcz spent $3,507 to Leszcz brought in a total of $6,445 in contributions and in-kind donations. The majority of contributors were from outside of Laurel, a noticeable number from Bethesda and Rockville, where two contributors gave $1,000 each.

Mayoral candidate spent close to $7,725, the least of any mayoral candidate after taking in $7,014 in contributions—mostly from outside of Laurel. His largest purchase was $724 for signage purchased from the Victory Store. Sarich still ran into the red by close to $700, according to records.

Mayor Craig Moe was the biggest spender during the a bill of $12,737. His biggest single line item, $4,500, was spent on Gonzales Research, an Annapolis-based political research and marketing strategy company. Moe, however, spent most of his money in Laurel shelling out a total of $4,689 at Minute Man Press on Main Street.

Moe raised $10,154, which still put the campaign in the red by more than $2,500. By comparison, in Moe’s last election in 2006, in which he ran uncontested, he spent $568.

Mayoral candidate spent more than $10,413 during her run for office. Cunningham spent the majority of her disbursements, $10,000, on the Baltimore-based Universal Elections, a political consulting firm. Cunningham contributed $1,000 to her own campaign, in addition to a $600 loan from a relative. In all, she raised $10,445 in contributions. 

Moe said that higher postage cost and more candidates in the city-wide election attributed to higher spending. Moe said he only spent about $5,000 during his last contested election in 2002.

"It all cost more," he said. "We had quite a few people running.... They worked hard. I worked hard. We were all trying to get our message out."