LO Campaign Activity updates

The 2016 Race

If name recognition is the sport, what is the score?  
If policies matter, what have the contestants been telling you? 

• There are 25,730 registered voters in Lake Oswego (2014)
• Approximately 90% of registered voters voted in the 2014 General Election (about 23,157 total)
• 51.02% of Lake Oswego voters are Democrats
• 46.79% are Republicans
• 2.77% are Independent

City of Lake Oswego, Best Places website

Costs per vote

How much will each candidate spend per vote based on contributions received to date?

• If 51% of likely voters voted for Studebaker for Mayor, he would have spent $2.84 per vote.
• If Dave Berg got 51% of likely voters, he would have spent $0.51 per vote.  
• If Jon Gustafson received all Of the likely Democrat votes, he would have spent $2.06 per vote.Council Candidates' contributions equate to a high of $1.72 per vote for Theresa Kohlhoff, to a low of $0.37 for Skip O'Neill.  

What is the right amount to spend on local elections?  Do candidates need professional political consultants and slick branding and marketing services to woo you?  Are you that hard to woo, or is their message very ugly?  Do they need generous outside funding as we see in the 3 best-funded campaigns?  Or should the job be done with wise spending and grass roots contributions like Dave Berg's campaign?  The answers make a difference as they indicate who a candidate is and how he or she will perform once in office.  It's all up to you.  If the high-rollers are rewarded, we will get more of the same next time, and so on.

We have to wait until the election is over and all the votes are in and campaign accounting is finalized to see what's what, but here is a snapshot of where each candidate is today. Remember, all these figures can change from one day to the next, depending upon reporting deadlines.

Stats as of 10/17/2016:

Campaigns for Mayor

Kent Studebaker 

Contributions............$33,580

Expenses...................... 9,847

Balance.......................24,133

Jon Gustafson

Contributions............$24,309

Expenses.....................16,113

Balance.......................  9,060

Dave Berg

Contributions............$  6,037

Expenses...................... 1,342

Balance........................ 4,695

Campaigns for City Council

Theresa Kohlhoff

Contributions............$20,298

Expenses.....................12,175

Balance........................ 8,122

John LaMotte

Contributions............$14,157

Expenses...................... 9,288

Balance........................ 4,869

Charles Collins

Contributions............$  8,975

Expenses...................... 7,090

Balance........................ 1,885

William "Skip" O'Neill

Contributions............$  4,375

Expenses...................... 3,279

Balance........................ 1,096