McAlister, Byrn lead in fundraising for Abilene City Council
Candidates for Abilene City Council filed their final campaign reports at the end of last week, with many reporting campaign dollars coming in from outside of the city limits of Abilene.
Place 5 incumbent Kyle McAlister received a substantial influx of support, while Place 6 candidate Charles Byrn received another major contribution from Texas Right to Life, an organization with offices in Houston, Irving and Austin.
Its mission, the nonprofit states, is to "legally, peacefully and prayerfully (protect) the God-given Right to Life of innocent human beings from fertilization to natural death."
Byrn is a supporter of the effort to make Abilene a "sanctuary city for the unborn."
Candidates filed their reports with the city secretary's office eight days before Saturday's election.
Early voting ends Tuesday.
More: Where to vote early and when for Abilene city, school board election
Place 5
KYLE MCALISTER
McAlister, running for reelection, reported $9,500 in contributions, with $8,008.10 in expenditures.
He had $2,150.50 left over as of the end of the reporting period.
James Porter gave McAlister $5,000, Dave Copeland $250, Jack Wilson $150, Neal Coates $100, Kevin Halliburton $100, Maggie Talbot $300, Jack Griggs $500, Texas Realtors Political Action Committee $2,500, Paul Washburn $100, John Beckham $200, Ray Ferguson $100, Joe Crawford $100 and Dewayne Chitwood $100.
McAlister's costs included outdoor advertising, post office expenses and advertising mailers.
In the previous period, he reported $1,000 in contributions and $1,861.61 in expenditures, with a total of $583.60 maintained.
At the end of that period, he had a principal amount of $1,200 in loans.
JAMES SARGENT
James Sargent reported $2,504 in contributions, with $2,985 in expenditures.
He maintained $1,089 in his campaign coffers as of his eight-day report.
His supporters include Richard and Tracy Kennedy, who gave $300, Clovis Dever $100, James and Anita Crim $100, Fred and Cathy Johnson $100, Donald and Janet Klies, of Merkel, $500, Keavy Sargent, $100, Terry and Karen St. Pierre $100, Carolyn Dupuis $100, Denise Alkire $100, Bonnie Pack, of Hawley, $100, Efren Vialobos $100, Thomas Ford $100 and Terri Lynn Ricks $200.
His expenditures include advertising costs for signs and banners, website expenses, food and beverage costs, office supplies and printing.
Sargent previously reported $1,570 in political contributions, with $50 in unitemized expenditures, maintaining $1,520.
Place 6
CHARLES BYRN
Byrn's funding, as it has previously, has primarily come from Texas Right to Life.
The group gave Byrn $5,400, that on top of previous contributions of $4,000 in the previous reporting period.
He reported $6,025 in campaign contributions, while his total political expenditures are listed as $9,817.
His total contributions maintained was $60.
Byrn's other major donors during this round of funding include Nick Coates, who gave $100, and Sonya Guice, of Houston, $300.
Guice is listed as an administrator for Impact Houston Church of Christ.
Byrn's political expenditures are mostly for signs, website expenses, digital billboards, food costs, etc.
He received a $175 in-kind donation from Data Analysis Gurus of Long Beach, Calif., for text to phone messages.
The company is listed as a consultant for Raw Strategies, for whom Byrn works.
Byrn previously indicated he was taking a leave of absence from the company during his campaign.
In the previous reporting period, he indicated he received $6,875 in contributions, with $1,6820.50 in expenditures and $5,156.50 maintained.
DOROTHY CLAY
Clay indicated campaign contributions of $2,340, with total expenditures of $2812.72 and total contributions maintained of $2,872.72.
Her major contributors were Don Klies, of Tye, who gave $500, Michele Talia Ferro $500, Latimer Bowen, of Blackwell, $200, Wayne and Sheila Rose $350, DuPuis $100, and Tracy and Richard Kennedy, $300.
Her expenditures are primarily signs and printing costs.
In the previous period, Clay reported $1,947 in contributions and $1,420.62 in expenditures.
TRAVIS CRAVER
Craver, who is running for reelection, posted $3,550 in contributions. He reported no expenditures.
Among those who supported Craver financially are Scott Dueser, who gave $500, John and Carolyn Beckham $250, Texas Realtors Political Action Committee $2,500, Jean Goodnight $200, Ron and Lorilei Butler $250, Luke and Sharra Longhofer $250, Marshall and Melanie Morris $100 and Neal Coates $100.
His previously reported no contributions or expenditures.
More: Paying it forward: How to fund projects key issue in Abilene City Council Place 5, 6 races
Brian Bethel covers city and county government and general news for the Abilene Reporter-News. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: McAlister, Byrn lead in fundraising for Abilene City Council
