Evansville City Council campaigns are funded by PACs, corporations and anonymous donors

EVANSVILLE – If you read the Evansville City Council campaign finance reports, you won’t find a lot of people on them.

The 15 men and women running for council raised just over $243,000 between April and October, but only about 21% of that total came from actual, named individuals, according to a Courier & Press analysis.

The rest poured in from political action committees, corporations, other political campaigns, labor unions and anonymous or unitemized donations, meaning everyday citizens have a miniscule role in funding the campaigns that decide who controls city government for the next four years – at least under their own name.

Democratic at-large hopeful Paul Green led the field by a wide margin, pulling in more than $55,000 in the past six months. Only $2,600 of that came from individuals. Instead, the longtime local union leader nabbed massive sums from labor organizations, including a $20,000 contribution from the Indiana State Building and Construction Trades Council PAC.

Democratic Sixth Ward Councilman Jim Brinkmeyer brought up the rear in fundraising, bringing in $0 in an unopposed bid for reelection.

One candidate, First Ward Republican challenger Joshua Edwards, missed the Oct. 20 deadline to turn in his report, causing the Vanderburgh County Election Board to place his name on a list of “delinquent filings” and hang it outside their office. He eventually turned it in three days late.

A look at each candidate’s finances can be found below.

First Ward

Joshua Edwards (R)

Contributions this period: $15,802

Edwards was one of the candidates who saw more half of his total come from individuals, at $8.500. Former mayor Russ Lloyd Jr. and Republican mayoral candidate Natalie Rascher accounted for $1,000 of that, giving Edwards $500 each.

Ben Trockman (D, incumbent)

Contributions this period: $21,120

A little more than $9,000 of Trockman’s total from PACs, although the incumbent did bring in more than $5,000 from individuals. His biggest donor was the Local 215 Drive Political Fund, the local Teamsters PAC.

Second Ward

Missy Mosby (D, incumbent)

Contributions this period: $27,770

A real estate agent herself, one of Mosby’s biggest contributors was the Indiana Realtors PAC, which forked over $3,000.

Maytes Rivera (R)

Contributions this period: $13,429

Rivera received $1,100 from Downtown restaurant The Rooftop, as well as $500 from Rascher. She also received a $250 “in kind” contribution from Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch in the form of an endorsement video.

Third Ward

Zac Heronemus (D, incumbent)

Contributions this period: $21,985

The City Council president received more than $18,000 of his money from PACs, labor, and other organizations such as the Local 215 Political Drive Fund ($3,000), local property management outfit Homes by Huffman ($1,000) and Indianapolis-based engineering firm Beam, Longest & Neff ($500).

Joseph Kratochvil (R)

Contributions this period: $26,764

Kratochvil raised more money from individuals than other City Council candidate, tallying over $19,000. His biggest donor, however, was his sister, newly appointed Vanderburgh County Superior Court Judge Jillian Kratochvil, who contributed $1,753.01 in a mix of direct and in-kind donations. He also fielded contributions from current and former political figures such as ex-prosecutor Nick Hermann, State Rep. Tim O’Brien, and former local GOP chairman Wayne Parke.

Fourth Ward

Alex Burton (D, incumbent)

Contributions this period: $3,700

Running unopposed, Burton’s entire haul came from PACs – $2,500 from Local 215 and $500 from International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers PAC 16. His report lists another $500 raised, but it’s not shown in the contributions. The other $200 is unitemized.

Fifth Ward

Angela Koehler Lindsey (R, incumbent)

Contributions this period: $6,068

Also without a challenger, Koehler Lindsey’s largest donors were Local 215’s PAC ($2,000) and Elpers for Evansville ($750): the PAC behind the man she replaced on City Council – current Vanderburgh County Commissioner Justin Elpers.

Sixth Ward

Jim Brinkmeyer (D) (incumbent)

Contributions this period: $0

Brinkmeyer was the first City Council candidate to turn in his campaign report, perhaps because it’s largely blank. He didn’t raise any money in his unopposed bid for re-election, but still has more than $4,000 on hand. It lists two expenses: $100 and $171 payments to Germania Maennerchor.

At-Large

Mary Allen (D)

Contributions this period: $25,473

A little less than $8,300 of Allen’s total came from donations through ActBlue, a digital fundraising tool geared toward Democrats. According its website, it allows supporters, "candidates and committees, progressive organizations and other nonprofits" to donate anonymously, with their contribution reading only as “ActBlue.” Other Democratic candidates received donations through ActBlue, but Allen had the most by far. She also snagged $5,000 from “Friends of Hatfield," the organization behind Indiana Rep. Ryan Hatfield.

Ed Bassemier (R)

Contributions this period: $10,000

That $10,000 came from Bassemier himself. His name is the only contributor listed on his report, which claims he gave himself the money in September. But it also claims he received $0 in contributions, and that he had the money on hand before this reporting period began in April.

Ron Beane (R, incumbent)

Contributions this period: $12,625

Out of Beane’s money, $9,750 came from PACs and labor organizations, with $2,000 each from the Indiana Realtors PAC and the Local 215 PAC.

Paul Green (D)

Contributions this period: $55,759

Green’s long history with IBEW and the city’s labor movement at large showed on his finance report in a big way. Although he officially only garnered $1,000 from labor organizations, his $45,200 in PAC money overwhelmingly came from union-tied funds.

Courtney Johnson (D)

Contributions this period: $3,026

The majority of Johnson’s money ($2,126.59) came from ActBlue contributions. Other PAC donations ($700) dominated the rest.

Jonathan Weaver (R, incumbent)

Contributions this period: $9,975

Like fellow real estate agent Missy Mosby, Weaver’s largest contribution came from the Indiana Realtors PAC ($3,000).

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville City Council campaigns largely funded by PACs, corporations