Former candidates' finance reports herald the past — and the future

EVANSVILLE — For former Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, the required ritual of filing annual campaign fundraising reports signaled the end of an era in local politics.

The 2023 year-end report that Republican Winnecke filed Jan. 17 was accompanied by paperwork disbanding his political committee with no money in it. The former three-term mayor, who reported raising and spending more than $1.2 million for one of his re-election campaigns, didn't run again last year. He did receive $18,000 in donations to go with $200,000-plus that he already had — but he spent it all in 2023 and shut the whole thing down.

For other former candidates who haven't sought elected office in a while, the annual accounting of how much money remains in the kitty represents yet-to-be-realized hope. Or at least keeping the door open. Most don't have anywhere near the amount a mayor typically raises, but they don't need as much either.

More: Evansville mayoral candidates file reports painting very different pictures

Jason Ashworth, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for Vanderburgh County sheriff in 2022, said the $1,043.62 still rattling around in his campaign account might be seed money for a future campaign for him — or his wife, Kendyl.

"She's in her 31st year of school teaching, and she obviously is very invested in (Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp.), the kids in the corporation and in the community," Ashworth said.

Whenever Kendyl Ashworth becomes eligible, her husband said, she might entertain the notion of seeking a seat on the EVSC school board. Or not. If neither of them runs for elected office, Jason Ashworth said, the leftover thousand dollars-plus will go "to charity or another candidate."

Indiana state law 3-9-3-4 spells out ways money in campaign accounts may be spent, including "activity related to service in an elected office" and "continuing political activity." The money can't be used to pay personal expenses, but the law allows it to be spent for a variety of political actions. Giving money to other candidates is a common use of campaign funds.

County Coroner Steve Lockyear still holds elected office, but he has served the maximum allowed two consecutive terms in office and may not seek re-election this year. Lockyear said he plans to retire — but there's still the matter of the $519.06 left in his campaign fund.

"I think legally you can donate to another candidate or to the party, and that's probably what I'll do," said Lockyear, a Democrat. "It's been one of those things my wife (attorney Krista Lockyear) and I have discussed over the last four years, on getting rid of the account — but you fill out one of these papers and you kind of forget about it until the next year. Then you start going, 'Oh darn, we've got to file that report again. We need to close that account.'"

For some former candidates, intrigue remains

Sometimes there's enough in a former candidate's still-active campaign account to raise eyebrows — and questions about the future.

Former Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nick Hermann, who last sought office more than a year and a half ago, reported that he still has more than $39,000 in his account.

Hermann is the subject of persistent rumors in legal and political circles that he will seek a Superior Court judgeship this year, but he did not return messages about his political plans or the money in his campaign account. The deadline for filing candidacy is Feb. 9.

School board member Amy Word, who is fighting a felony criminal charge that accuses her of "maintaining a common nuisance" at Lamasco Bar & Grill, has said she will not seek re-election in 2024.

But Word did file an annual campaign finance report Thursday, one day after the state deadline for doing so.

Word reported that she still has nearly $2,600 in her campaign account. She reported raising no money in 2023 and spending just 50 cents from her the account, an un-itemized expenditure.

Phone and text messages to Word went unanswered.

More common is the report filed by Steve Ary, an unsuccessful mayoral candidate in 2019. The Committee to Elect Steve Ary reports having "$0.00" cash on hand, mainly because he hasn't sought any elected office for several years.

But never say never.

"I intended on keeping (the campaign account) in case I was going to run again and, quite frankly, I don't know that I am yet," Ary said.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Former candidates' finance reports herald the past — and the future