by Glenn Tschimpke
Staff Writer
If campaign dollars translated into votes for next year’s mayoral election, it would be John Peyton by a landslide. The Gate executive raised nearly a half-million dollars since January, eclipsing the three other candidates who had to file their campaign finance reports by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
Despite Peyton’s lofty amount, opponents Michael Weinstein, Ginger Soud and Alberta Hipps, all Republicans who entered the race last fall, say they are not intimidated.
Weinstein is currently the head of Jacksonville’s Super Bowl Host Committee and former director of the Jacksonville Economic Development Commission. After running up a total of $146,000 in donations at the end of December, contributions slowed through March though he did gain the support of Jacksonville NAACP chair Isaiah Rumlin and Duval County School Board chair Jimmie Johnson. Weinstein has raised $90,125 so far this year, bringing the balance of his campaign coffer to $236,155 — less than half of Peyton’s. Nevertheless, Weinstein said he is happy with his progress.
“We’ve just been functioning on a low-key basis and emphasizing on the organization of the campaign,” he said. “We’ve had no formal fund raisers yet. We’re very pleased and on target; we’ve got a quarter million dollars in the bank a year out from the election.”
Weinstein is due to leave his post at the Super Bowl Host Committee July 1 to begin campaigning in earnest. His financial goal to stay competitive mayor’s race is between $800,000 and $1.2 million.
“You need to have an adequate fund raising effort to put on a legitimate campaign, but you don’t need more than that,” he said.
Soud raised nearly $69,000 last quarter, bringing her total to $170,908. The at-large City Council representative and former Council president has amassed a sizable amount of contributions from the real estate community.
“Ginger’s goal from the beginning was to run a first class campaign,” said Soud’s campaign manager Cynthia Brust, who added that Peyton’s strong showing is not a concern. “Mr. Peyton said all along that his campaign is going to be expensive. We are not in a dollar for dollar campaign.”
Brust would not comment on how much Soud is looking to raise.
“Every quarter starts an opportunity to raise money,” she said. “We’re just plugging away day by day.”
Hipps, City Council District 13 representative and also former Council president, raised $56,000 last quarter, bringing her campaign balance to $81,587. Far behind the other three competitors required to file finance reports, she said she is not discouraged and has no intention of dropping out of the race.
“This is a situation I’ve been in before,” she said. “I’ve certainly been where there are steep mountains to climb. I’m trying to stay, certainly, within the reality of the race, but it’s no different than what I suspected it would be.”
Hipps would not divulge her ultimate fund raising goal, but said she plans to raise as much money as she can to stay competitive.
“I won’t say there is a specific mark,” she said. “My opponents, other than Mr. Peyton, have not exactly set records.”
Through the excitement of who-raised-what, Hipps offered the most pointed comment: “Still, it’s a race of votes, not money.”
Peyton, Weinstein, Soud and Hipps were the only mayoral candidates required to submit campaign finance reports Wednesday. The others, Tommy Hazouri, Keith Myers and Stephen Irvine opened accounts after March 31, the end of the first quarter reporting period. Their first reports will be due July 10.