Dacey leads County Council field in fundraising

Jul. 14—Frederick County Councilman Phil Dacey has raised far more money than any other candidate in the race for seven council seats, campaign finance reports show.

Dacey, a Republican, has raised 25% of all money contributed to the County Council race, according to campaign finance reports filed between January 2021 and July 2022.

The candidates — 24 total — have raised $305,000 since January 2021. Dacey has brought in $78,000.

Brad Young, a Democrat who is president of the Frederick County Board of Education, has raised $40,000 — the second most among council candidates.

Combined, Dacey and Young have accounted for nearly 40% of all contributions to the race.

Both men are running for at-large seats on the County Council. Two candidates from each party move on to the November general election. The primary election is on Tuesday.

Five candidates, including Dacey and Young, are running in the at-large field.

Dylan Diggs, a contractor for the U.S. Department of State, and Tony Chmelik, a former councilman, are also running for the Republican nomination.

Diggs has raised $9,000 since January 2021. Chmelik has not raised any money in 2022, and he filed an Affidavit of Limited Contributions and Expenditures in 2021, meaning his campaign did not intend to receive or spend more than $1,000.

Renee Knapp, a former board member for the Women's Democratic League of Frederick County and the Frederick County Democratic Central Committee, is also seeking the Democratic nomination.

Knapp has raised $12,000 since January 2021.

Eleven Democrats and 13 Republicans are running for the seven County Council seats. Despite having two fewer candidates, Democrats have raised nearly 10% more money than their Republican competitors since January 2021.

The difference in fundraising is especially pronounced in the race for the seat representing District 4, which encompasses much of the eastern part of the city of Frederick.

Four Democrats have raised a total of $43,000, while three Republicans have brought in $9,000 between them.

The top fundraisers in the District 4 field are both Democrats. John Funderburk, an investment portfolio manager and owner of his namesake finance company, has raised $16,000 since January 2021.

Kavonte Duckett, director of the Alan P. Linton, Jr. Emergency Shelter in Frederick, has brought in $15,000.

Seven candidates are running for the District 4 seat, making it the most crowded field in the County Council race.

Councilwoman Jessica Fitzwater has represented the district since 2014, but she is not seeking reelection. Fitzwater is one of three Democrats running for county executive. The others are Daryl Boffman and Councilman Kai Hagen.

Betty Law, a retired electric power engineer, and Nicholas Augustine, a Montgomery County police commander and Realtor, are also seeking the Democratic nomination in District 4.

Law has raised $8,300 since January 2021, and Augustine has received $3,700.

Republican candidates include John Fer, a former teacher and Air Force pilot who, as a prisoner of war, shared a cell with former U.S. Sen. John McCain; Steve Valentino, a truck driver for a lumber company; and Chaz Packan, a former legislative aide for state delegate and gubernatorial candidate Dan Cox.

Neither Fer nor Valentino raised or spent more than $1,000 for their campaigns.

Packan has raised $9,000 since January 2021.

County Council candidates have been required to submit between two and four campaign finance reports since January 2021, depending on when they filed to run. The most recent report that each candidate filed showed their transactions between June 8 and July 3 — the shortest period of time that a filing covers and the final report before Primary Election Day.

Casie Chang, an administrative assistant for Frederick County Public Schools, raised more than any other candidate during the last campaign finance period.

Chang, a Republican running for the council's District 2 seat, which includes New Market, Linganore, Ijamsville and parts of Urbana and Mount Airy, raised $11,000.

She raised $2,200 between January 2021 and early June 2022.

Chang is looking to defeat Councilman Steve McKay for the Republican nomination.

McKay raised $250 in the latest campaign finance period, and he has raised $14,000 since January 2021.

The latest reports for all County Council candidates, and the amount they have raised since January 2021, are below:

At-large Republicans

— Councilman Phil Dacey raised $5,800; spent $3,200; has $80,000 remaining. He has raised $78,000 since January 2021.

— Dylan Diggs raised $2,600; spent $2,700; has $5,400 remaining. He has raised $9,000 since January 2021.

— Tony Chmelik raised $0; spent $0; has $3,000 remaining. He has not raised more than $1,000 since January 2021.

Democrats

— Renee Knapp raised $1,100; spent $1,500; has $6,500 remaining. She has raised $12,000 since January 2021.

— Brad Young raised $8,100; spent $1,000; has $29,000 remaining. He has raised $40,000 since January 2021.

District 1 Republicans

— John Distel raised $2,900; spent $2,700; has $3,000 remaining. He has raised $10,000 since January 2021.

— Bill Miskell raised $0.01; spent $0.01; has $1,600 remaining. He has raised $1,900 since January 2021.

Democrats

— Councilman Jerry Donald raised $350; spent $0; has $23,000 remaining. He has raised $19,000 since January 2021.

District 2 Republicans

— Casie Chang raised $11,000; spent $7,000; has $4,300 remaining. She has raised $13,000 since January 2021.

— Councilman Steve McKay raised $250; spent $3,600; has $8,300 remaining. He has raised $14,000 since January 2021.

Democrats

— Lisa Jarosinski raised $430; spent $20; has $2,000 remaining. She has raised $1,200 since January 2021.

District 3 Republicans

— Shelley Aloi raised $0; spent $0; has $600 remaining. She has raised $600 since January 2021.

Democrats

— Council President M.C. Keegan-Ayer raised $3,300; spent $6,000; has $16,000 remaining. She has raised $22,000 since January 2021.

— Jazmin Di Cola raised $3,700; spent $0; has $11,000 remaining. She has raised $16,000 since January 2021.

District 4 Republicans

— John Fer filed an Affidavit of Limited Contributions and Expenditures, meaning his campaign intends to receive or spend less than $1,000. He has not raised more than $1,000 since January 2021.

— Chaz Packan raised $100; spent $2,100; has $2,300 remaining. He has raised $8,900 since January 2021.

— Steve Valentino filed an Affidavit of Limited Contributions and Expenditures. He has not raised more than $1,000 since January 2021.

Democrats

— Nicholas Augustine raised $25; spent $55; has $470 remaining. He has raised $3,700 since January 2021.

— Kavonte Duckett raised $4,100; spent $5,100; has $8,400 remaining. He has raised $15,000 since January 2021.

— John Funderburk raised $860; spent $1,000; has $990 remaining. He has raised $16,000 since January 2021.

— Betty Law raised $670; spent $70; has $2,400 remaining. She has raised $8,300 since January 2021.

District 5 Republicans

— Council Vice President Michael Blue filed an Affidavit of Limited Contributions and Expenditures. He has not raised more than $1,000 since January 2021.

— Mason Carter raised $460; spent $200; has $5,600 remaining. He has raised $10,000 since January 2021.

Democrats

— Julianna Lufkin raised $220; spent $140; has $3,300 remaining. She has raised $6,500 since January 2021.

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