51黑料

ST. LOUIS 鈥� A surge of big-dollar donations, many of them tied to construction firm Clayco and other developers, pushed Alderwoman Cara Spencer ahead of Mayor Tishaura O. Jones in total fundraising and gave her a comfortable cash advantage as the March 4 election nears.

Spencer and the political action committee supporting her raised over $677,000 during this past month of fundraising and spent over $500,000 in that time, according to campaign finance reports filed Monday. With a week before the the first round of voting, Spencer and her PAC are sitting on over $430,000.

That was well over Mayor Jones鈥� fundraising totals in the same period, from late January to Monday. The mayor, seeking a second term, raised $136,000 between her regular campaign account and her PAC, and the two committees spent $300,000 supporting her campaign. Combined, Jones had $168,000 left to spend in the final days of the campaign.

In total for this campaign, Spencer and her allied PAC raised nearly $1.2 million, compared to the over $1 million Jones and the PAC supporting the mayor raised.

A third candidate, Recorder of Deeds Michael Butler, raised $7,200 in the last month, bringing his total to $62,583. Butler, who has name recognition as both the recorder and a former chair of the Missouri Democratic Party, spent $5,600 in the last month and had $11,200 in the bank for the final campaign stretch.

A fourth candidate, Andrew Jones, who has previously run for mayor as a Republican, did not file a campaign finance report.

A large chunk of Spencer鈥檚 fundraising haul came from Chicago-based construction and development firm Clayco and its executives, particularly chairman Bob Clark, who founded the firm in the 51黑料 area, where it maintains a significant presence.

The political action committee supporting Spencer, A Brighter Future for 51黑料, reported over $350,000 in donations over the last month, pushing its cash on hand from less than $20,000 to more than $330,000. More than a third of that, $130,000, came from Clayco, including a $111,000 donation Clark has said was the amount he spent responding to a city request for proposals that was rejected. Clark wanted to move Clayco鈥檚 concrete business to a site in north 51黑料. 51黑料 Development Corp. officials said they wanted retail for the area, prompting the rejection.

In the final weeks of the election, Jones has cast Clark as a foil trying to buy the mayor鈥檚 office, flagging past controversies. They include Clayco鈥檚 involvement in one of the teams that bid to privatize 51黑料 Lambert International Airport and Clark鈥檚 attempt to derail the expansion of the America鈥檚 Center. Clark has also worked with controversial developer Paul McKee, a connection the mayor鈥檚 father, Virvus Jones, has sought to highlight on social media.

On Tuesday, Jones鈥� political action committee released an ad calling Clark 鈥淐ara Spencer鈥檚 billionaire megadonor鈥� who is giving to Spencer 鈥渟o he can do whatever he wants to us.鈥�

Spencer, who represents downtown and neighborhoods south of it, or her PAC also received contributions from several area developers, including Michael Hamburg, who built the mixed-use project anchored by Target on Grand Boulevard, and $5,000 from Jeff Tegethoff, who has built apartments in the city and has worked closely with Clayco鈥檚 development arm. Steve Smith, who developed the City Foundry in Midtown, contributed $2,600, and George Stock, who works as an engineer on many area developments, gave $5,000.

Other notable Spencer contributors include prominent attorney Jerry Schlichter and his wife, Susan, who have donated almost a combined $15,000 to Spencer this cycle; philanthropist and former Post-Dispatch owner Emily Pulitzer, who donated $2,600; and the chair of rental car giant Enterprise Mobility, Andy Taylor, and his wife, Barbara, who each gave $2,600. The Cardinals baseball team also gave $2,600 to Spencer.

Jones鈥� PAC, 314 Forward, received large donations of $25,000 apiece from two locals of the Laborer鈥檚 International Union. Another union, the Plumbers and Pipefitters, previously donated $10,000 to Jones鈥� PAC. Enterprise Holdings gave the mayor鈥檚 PAC $7,500, and Sue McCollum, who led former alcohol distributor Major Brands before its sale, donated $5,000. Downtown law firm Thompson Coburn and the Cardinals each donated $2,600 to the mayor鈥檚 reelection.

Jones鈥� PAC in December also received $5,000 from Steven Miltenberger, the CEO of slot machine company Torch Electronics, which has operated slot machines in gas stations around the state via a legal gray area for years.

Thousands more in donations came in from Torch鈥檚 lobbying firm, Strategic Capitol Consulting, led by former GOP Missouri House Speaker Steve Tilley. The firm gave the mayor鈥檚 PAC $2,500. Brittany Robbins, a lobbyist at the firm, gave $1,000. And a PAC tied to Tilley, Missouri Growth PAC, contributed $6,000 to 314 Forward in cash and in-kind contributions.

Some of the Tilley鈥檚 big clients in the marijuana business also donated to Jones鈥� PAC, including industry group MoCann Trade, which gave $5,000.

The March 4 vote is the first round in the race and will pare the field to two candidates. A runoff will be held April 8.