The Jan. 18 filings cover individual candidates' campaign activity from Dec. 17 through Jan. 15 and are the final reports due ahead of election day Jan. 25. The new disclosures show an uptick in spending among all candidates as the race draws to a close and a financial gap between Vela and the other six candidates in the race. That trend mirrors the results shown in the first finance documents released during the District 4 campaign when Vela's spending and contributions totaled more than that of all his competition. However, a special-purpose political committee opposing Vela and backing candidate Jade Lovera approached his spending and donation totals this month. From mid-December to mid-January, Vela earned more than 60 donations at the city-mandated limit of $400 as well as several dozen more at lower levels for a total of nearly $37,000. Top donors include local developers, real estate attorneys and government employees such as outgoing District 4 Council Member Greg Casar, who endorsed Vela in the race Dec. 16. Consulting payments, advertising, personal protective equipment and other expenses made up Vela's nearly $47,000 in spending for the latest reporting period.
Behind Vela, candidates Monica Guzmán and Lovera reported the next-highest individual contribution totals with $8,665.97 and $8,250 raised, respectively, while candidate Amanda Rios posted the second-highest spending total of $7,000. Melinda Schiera reported $1,496.69 in spending and $506.29 in donations as of mid-January.
Financial disclosures from candidates Isa Boonto and Ramesses II Setepenre were not available through the city's campaign finance database as of Jan. 20.
Committee activity
While no individual candidate filings showed finances near Vela's, the Voices for District 4 committee—which supports Lovera and opposes Vela—reported spending $35,087.11 and receiving $41,000 from Jan. 7-17 alone. The two donations to the group came from West Austin political action committees; Restore Leadership ATX gave $33,500, and City Accountability Project gave $7,500.
The Northeast Austin-based Austinites for Equity committee, which supports Vela, reported $825 in spending from Jan. 1-15.
Early voting for the special election is ongoing and closes Jan. 21. Just 3.46% of registered voters in District 4 cast a ballot as of Jan. 19, according to information from the office of Travis County Clerk Dana DeBeauvoir.
The latest Austin campaign finance documents may be viewed through the city clerk's online database.
