UPDATE: This post was corrected and expanded to reflect the following: revision of funds raised in the mayoral race, charts clarifying loans and mayoral vs council candidates, and a minor error in Danniel Belay’s financial report.

In the Rockville Mayor and Council race, the first round of financial reports, due on October 9, 2023, have begun to paint a picture of the candidates with the most substantial resources and support. As the race for the six council seats intensifies, the field appears to have narrowed from twelve to eight contenders: Kate Fulton, Barry Jackson, Ricky Mui, David Myles, Paul Scott, Izola Shaw, Marissa Valeri, and Adam Van Grack.

However, not all candidates are faring as well. Financial reports indicate that Danniel Belay, Anita Powell, and Richard Gottfried are trailing, each having raised less than $500, a sum considered insufficient to garner substantial voter support in Rockville. Harold Hodges, another candidate, appears to be even less active in the race, having not submitted a financial report.

The mayoral race in Rockville is shaping up to be a complex contest. Candidate Mark Pierzchala has raised an impressive $48,352, but with a self-loan of $33,160 this period, his effective fundraising total comes to $15,192 (ignoring funds and loans carried over from his 2019 campaign).

In contrast, Monique Ashton‘s fundraising efforts have yielded $19,836, a figure that not only falls short of her opponent’s total but also those of council candidates Kate Fulton, Barry Jackson, and Adam Van Grack. Ashton has loaned her campaign $8,224, leaving her with a net fundraising total of $11,612, (ignoring funds and loans carried over from her 2019 campaign). This places Ashton among the middle of all candidates in this election but an improvement compared to 2019, when she had raised nearly $8,000 by the end of September.

Contributors to campaigns offer revealing insights into financial influences and influencers, but it is different in smaller local races as in Rockville. Donor analysis typically shows many candidates receive support from family, such as Adam Van Grack. However, this election reveals an unusual trend: incumbents Monique Ashton, Mark Pierzchala, and David Myles have not garnered substantial support from local residents, which would be expected if they had significantly impacted residents’ lives. This raises questions about the perceived influence of the Mayor and Council. Are their actions going unnoticed, or are they not making a significant impact? Notably, current Mayor Bridget Newton and her husband are supporting Monique Ashton, Barry Jackson, and Paul Scott.

For your own analysis, here are the individuals who made contributions of $500 or more, all of whom are based in Rockville unless stated otherwise:

Ashton, Monique: Aaron Stallworth (DC, $500), Antonio Quirindongo (NY, $1,000), Joseph Song (CA, $500), Simon Francis (DC, $1,000), Bridget Newton ($750), Fred Newton ($750), Cyrus Allafi ($500)

Pierzchala, Mark: Norma Pierzchala ($1,000), Joel Martinez ($1,000), Paul O’Brien ($500), Janet Gallant ($1,000), Carl Pierzchala ($1,000), George and Barbara Felber ($500), Benjamin Ross (MD, $500), Ingrid Chua ($1,000), Eduardo Alueta ($1,000; returned)

Belay, Danniel: None over $500

Fulton, Kate: Joel Martinez ($1,000), Beverly McFarland (Delaware, $1,000), Bill Fulton (California, $500)

Gottfried, Richard: None over $500

Hodges, Harold: No report

Jackson, Barry: Elizabeth Bartz (Ohio, $500), James “Jack” Jackson (Washington, $1,000), Peter Fosselman ($750), John Killpack (California, $1,000), Bridget Newton ($750), Fred Newton ($750)

Mui, Ricky (DBA Communities Electing Ricky Mui & Supporters of Mui Ricky Fai): Jacob Miller (Washington, $500), Mark Pierzchala ($500), Michael O’Brien (Pennsylvania, $500)

Myles, David: Duncan Maru (NY, $1,000), Tommy Roberts (GA, $500)

Powell, Anita: None over $500

Scott, Paul: Christopher Cash ($1,000), Bridget Newton ($750), Fred Newton ($750)

Shaw, Izola: Steven Van Grack ($520.87), Michael Rubin (MD, $520.87), Kimberley Propeack (MD, $500), Quinton Zondervan (MA, $1,000)

Valeri, Marissa: None over $500

Van Grack, Adam: Steven Van Grack ($1,000), Brandon Van Grack ($1,000), Claire Bohenegel (DC, $1,000), Gail Van Grack-Aks ($1,000), Ryan Van Grack (MD, $1,000), Citizens for Brian Feldman (MD, $500), Terry Lierman (MD, $1,000).

The Board of Supervisors of Elections requires candidates to file their campaign financial statements on simple yet confusing forms (or are they simply confusing forms?) that always trip up candidates and require correction (to see how widespread this problem occurs, count the number of amended returns in 2019). For this round, there seem to be a couple errors that deserve closer scrutiny but do not seem to affect my overall conclusions:

• Rockville United lists an in-kind contribution of $200 to Paul Scott, which does not appear in Paul Scott’s report.
• Danniel Belay lists $100 as a balance forward, however, there is no previous campaign finance report. I suspect this was a self-contribution to open a bank account for the campaign and is recorded incorrectly.
• Anita Powell lists $283.95 in contributions as loans but they are actually campaign expenses.