Fire union funds played a part in Middletown council race

BY THE NUMBERS

Here’s how much was raised by candidates in Middletown City Council race*:

*The Middletown Firefighters Policical Action Committee raised $7,300 and supported Picard and Bronston.

Source: Butler County Board of Elections

THIS WEEK

The Journal-News will look at other campaign finance reports in races around Butler County.

Tuesday: We reported on the impact fundraising had on the mayoral races in Hamilton and Fairfield.

Thursday: Liberty Twp. and West Chester Twp. trustee

The race for Middletown City Council wasn’t won by the person who raised the most money or spent the most money.

It was won by the two who had the the support by the Middletown Firefighters Political Action Committee, which raised $7,300 and spent more than $7,600 supporting its candidates: Vice Mayor Dan Picard and Councilwoman-elect Dora Bronston.

Four people vied for two open seats as City Council will be reduced from seven members to five effective on Jan. 1.

Councilman Josh Laubach, who finished last among the four candidates, said he had limited resources to spend in his campaign and “unfortunately that wasn’t enough to combat the amount of money spent by the other candidates and the fire union.”

Most of Laubach’s nearly $1,200 raised was spent mostly on signs and a few mailers. Most of his campaign strategy was to knock on doors as he leveraged the use of his signs.

“I was substantially outspent,” he said. “I think what cost me the election was the negative publicity the other candidates and the firefighters put out against me. I would argue it was misinformation, but nonetheless effective misinformation.”

IAFF Local 336 vice president Chris Klug doesn’t believe any misinformation went out on the robo calls or literature supporting Picard and Bronston. He said the union and the PAC became involved because public safety was “on the chopping block” with the 2014 and 2015 budgets.

“We felt like the people weren’t being listened to as far as their voice after the public safety levy (was approved in August 2012),” he said. “It’s just come to the point that certain council members weren’t listening to the public.”

Klug said the money raised was to “fight for the citizens and make sure their voice is heard and protected adequately. If that meant stepping up and spending some money, we felt like that was the best decision for the residents and our members.”

Councilwoman Ann Mort raised and spent the most among the candidates, according to the campaign finance reports filed last week with the Butler County Board of Elections. She had the most individual contributors support her campaign, but still fell short in earning the second seat on council by 239 votes.

“That’s important,” she said of people supporting a campaign. “People who give money to a campaign almost always votes for you. I appreciate those supporters. I tried to do my best in the office.”

Mort said it takes money to get votes. And while it’s important to be out meeting and interacting with the voting public, “you have to do some advertising.”

“With early voting, you peak at different times so you have to spend different types of money,” she said. “But it does help if you have the backing of a fire union.”

Dan Picard said it wasn’t so much the fire union’s money that helped his campaign, as well as Bronston’s campaign, but the manpower the union supplied knocking on doors and working the polls on Election Day.

“It’s not the money they raised, but their efforts to go out on doors and to talk to people and pass out fliers,” Picard said. “As much as (the financial support) had some impact, but the much greater impact was their membership going out there and contacting the public. The manpower was much more important than the money they raised.”

Picard said the emphasis on not raising a lot of money by the candidates showed the importance of interacting with the public.

“Not a lot of money was raised. It’s obviously that not a lot of spent,” he said.

Bronston, who raised $1,365, could not be reached for comment on this story.