With only 90 days until the October 2021 municipal elections, Mayor Cantrell is reporting $682,363.41 cash on hand. During the last 90 days Cantrell raised $409,271.50 and spent $154,292.56 mostly on consultants. She already had $427,384.47 when the fundraising quarter began.
Who are Cantrell’s big donors? A mixture of architects, engineers contractors, lawyers and others who do business with the City along with the usual labor leaders, liberals and other business types hoping for economic development along with a smattering of good government.
Most major donors like Adams and Reese, and lobbyist Randy Haynie are making their first donation this quarter but they have been easing up to the $5,000 limit for any single donor. That doesn’t mean of course that a donor and spouse can’t contribute $10,000 or add in another $5,000 through a company of their auntie. Other couples like Ralph and Cindy Brennan, Fred and Jennifer Heebe and Jeff and Patricia Ward have the ability to make multiple donations from a variety of personal and business entities. Some fundraising consultants believe that a couple or business that figures out how to give $20,000 always gets an elected official’s attention and a seat at the table.
Some of the most plugged-in donors who have already reached that $5,000 magic number include Kristin Attaway of Belle Chasse, retired shipbuilder Boysie Bollinger, Nicholas Caldarera, attorney Story Charbonnet, Insurance executive Anne Dangle, architects Eskew Dumez Ripple, Kurt Evans, Kirk Fisher, attorney James Garner, Gulf South Engineering and Testing, Darryl Berger’s Jackson Square Investments, the Jones Walker law firm, attorneys Kinney Elkinghausen & DeShazo, Jeremy Leventhal from the Four Seasons development group, attorney Leopold Sher, Rex Poco Sloss, Meyer Engineering, Stuart Consulting, hotelier Michael Valentino, Thomas Westfeldt and many more.
There are also plenty of first-time donors who didn’t want the train to leave without them. They include Dr. Nicholas Bazan, contractor Robert Boh, Boland Marine, architect Dana Brown, accountants Bruno & Tervalon, Thomas Cook, David Duplantier, attorney Bob Ellis, photographer Tina Freeman, James Garvey and Carol Gelderman.
Cantrell’s last campaign started with a base of small but loyal donors. These are the folk that gave her the initial lift that attracted the big givers. Her current report contains hundreds of donors in that $50 and under range such as Notsha Albert, Dazmine Allen, Nia Ambrose, NORD’s Larry Barabino, Zivah Bauman, Stephanie Bethley, Brian Bigard, preservationist Janie Blackmon, Carissa Bokelberg, Ross Bourgeois, Rosalind Boykins, Eliza Brierre, Chad Brown, Arthur Busby, Ashley Cain, Gianluca Cocito Monoc, Marlene Cooper, Lisa Crinel, Sayonara Davis and Elexa Dixon. Look for these loyalists wearing the latest campaign swag and knocking on doors in the coming weeks.
Cantrell’s expenditures include her capable campaign manager Maggie Carroll, Bright Moments which is producing and placing radio commercials, pollster Dr. Silas Lee, campaign assistant Sean Hoffman, Jolie Image Consulting, finance consultant Drew Prestridge, and Kristine Breithaupt’s Last Word Strategies.
Mayoral candidate Leilano Heno, who is being called an alternative to Cantrell, also filed a 90-day report. She announced $10,379 raised, $3,108.49 spent and $7,270.51 cash on hand. She also made a personal loan to the campaign of $2,500. Heno’s donors include Bourbon Pride, LLC., Kristin Artigues, Philip and Carla Turnage, Jennifer Sentilles, Trudy Railford, Sandra Heaslip and Jeffrey Carreras. Her largest single donor was Claudia Cavallino. Heno will really have to ramp up fundraising to be a true competitor in the race. Her major expenditure has been to printing broker Jimmy Triay who appears on more than a few reports every campaign season.
Announced mayoral candidates Belden Batiste, Matt Hill and Luke Fontana have not even filed a statement of organization for this race, which is a necessary step for every serious candidate.
City Council President Helena Moreno is reporting $182,270.89 cash on hand at the end of the 90-day reporting period with $137,508 raised this quarter and $8,553.13 spent. Her major donors include Brian Gibbs, Theodore Lee, Steven Martin, Gray Parker, and Nicole and Anthony Marullo III. Her announced opponent, activist Kenneth Cutno, has not yet filed a statement of organization.
In the open seat for Council-At-Large, former state senator J.P. Morrell is reporting $213,942.46 cash on and with $290,798 raised and $78,753.33 in expenditures. Morrell’s major donors also include Kristin Attaway along with the Blake Jones Law Firm, Joseph Canizaro, John, Donna and Sean Cummings, Aaron Dirks, Lisa Farrell and Tony Clayton.
Councilmember Kristin Palmer who is also running At Large is reporting $189,525.04 cash on hand after raising $171,030 during the period. Her expenditures were listed at $78,102.43. Palmer’s major donors include Pres Kabacoff’s Preservation Partners, Evan Alford, Marc Behar, Michael Bertel, Keith Crawford, Jack Davis, Lori Frischhertz, Howard Glaser, Gulf Coast Bank and John Stephen Gray.
Councilmember Jared Brossett is the third major candidate in the at-large race. Brossett reports $93,948.57 at the end of this period with $8,500 in contributions and $17,642.089 in expenditures. Brossett counts among his recent donors Linfield, Hunter & Junius, Nicole Weber, and Whiskey Oaks Development LLC.
