Scottsdale candidates continue to drum up support

Jul. 22—Fifteen days before the July 30 primary, city, county, state and federal candidates were required to file documents showing how much they have raised.

The primary will narrow down the three candidates for mayor and nine hopefuls hunting three Scottsdale City Council seats.

Ballots should be mailed by Tuesday, July 23. Drop off locations are also available through July 30.

Republicans in Scottsdale also can choose between two candidates for the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors: Incumbent Tom Galvin and former state Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita.

Galvin raised nearly $100,000 from April through June, pushing his campaign funds total to $233,000.

Two Realtor political action committees donated a combined $13,000 to Galvin.

And the CEO of El Dorado Holdings, a real estate developer, wrote a check of $6,000 to Galvin.

Ugenti-Rita showed less than half of Galvin's fundraising power, bringing in $50,000 in the most recent quarter to up her total fund to just under $88,000.

Real estate developers Elaine and Peter Martens donated a total of $20,000 to Ugenti-Rita. The lone Democrat for the District 2 seat, current Schottsdale Unified Board member Julie Cieniawski, filed no financial report. City Clerk Ben Lane tracks the candidate fundraising in Scottsdale.

Lane explained candidates are required to file a campaign financial report if they reach a combination of contributions and expenditures of $500.

Scottsdale mayoral campaign

Three veteran fundraisers — former councilwomen Linda Milhaven and Lisa Borowsky and current Mayor David Ortega, who previously served on City Council — face off in the mayor race.

Ortega and Milhaven were neck-and-neck in money raising, with Borowsky trailing.

Ortega pumped up his reelection campaign fund to $158,000, taking in donations of $38,820 from April through June.

With a whopping $6,650 contribution, Ortega's biggest financial cheerleader was Walter Jackson of luxury car auction company Barrett-Jackson.

Walter Brown, a real estate developer, wrote a check for $4,000 to Ortega.

Seven others — including the Odysea Aquarium CEO — donated $1,000 or more to Ortega from April through May.

In the first quarter of the year, Ortega's donor list was topped by GoDaddy founder Bob Parsons and his wife Renee Parsons, who each wrote checks to the mayor of $6,650.

Optima developer and noted architect David Hovey Jr. also maxed out with a $6,650 contribution to Ortega.

Milhaven raised just under $50,000 in the last quarter, nearly doubling her campaign chest to $132,000. Writing a check for $4,166, Visar Dema, of Nga Aerospace, was Milhaven's biggest donor.

Blake Kotiza, vice president of Privoro mobile security solutions dialed up $4,000 for Milhaven.

Tom Frenkel of real estate developer Clayton Companies added $2,500 to Milhaven's campaign. Five others — including a teacher and a real estate broker — wrote Milhaven checks for $1,000 or more.

Milhaven also received the max contribution of $6,650 from Realtors of Arizona.

In the previous quarter, restaurant owner Les Coierie was Milhaven's biggest "show me the money" supportor, handing over $6,650.

Justin Krueger, a contractor, tossed in $5,000 to Milhaven and Grayhawk developer Les Tryhus gave $2,500.

Borowsky raised a little less than $22,000 from April through June, bringing her campaign total to $58,000.

Borowsky received donations of $2,000 from Justin Scott and Guy Williams and $2,500 from Tom Hatten. Three others kicked in $1,000 or more.

City Council race

There is a high-achieving fundraising leader among the nine candidates for three City Council positions.

Councilwoman Tammy Caputi, who racked up an eye-popping $288,851 in her 2020 campaign, through March raked in donations of $169,213 — including $46,064 in the first three months of 2024 — for her re-election run.

In the crucial second quarter of 2024, Caputi raised another $88,000, bringing her campaign total to $258,000.

She reported individual donors with contributions of $100 or less combined for $68,000.

Caputi also scored $10,000 from Tom and Jane Frenkel, real estate developers.

Real estate attorney Jason Morris contributed $4,500 to Caputi's campaign.

An executive with PEG Companies — a Utah-based property management company — wrote a check for $5,000 to Caputi.

Dan Ishac's "Dan for Scottsdale" candidate committee also contributed over $5,000 to Caputi's campaign.

The Realtors for Arizona group anted up $4,950 for Caputi, who reported spending about $55,000 of her contributions as of July 1.

In the first quarter of the year, Larry Van Tuyl, a car dealer and real estate tycoon, wrote Caputi a check for $6,650.

Andrew Cohn, a real estate and securities investor, contributed $5,000 to Caputi's campaign in the first quarter, as did Ronald Miller.

Adam Kwasman, a former state representative, has raised $126,000 — the second-highest amount of money among council candidates. He has spent around $80,000.

Kwasman drummed up $45,000 in support during the second quarter. A third of that came from out-of-state contributions.

Tracy Conrad, listed as self-employed in Dallas, wrote a check for $6,650 to Kwasman, while Miami executive Diane Corieri ponied up $5,000 to the candidate.

Phoenix chiropractor Mike Papamatheakis was Kwasman's biggest in-state contributor in the second quarter, writing a check for $4,000.

In the first quarter, Steve Hilton, of Meritage Homes, contributed $5,000 to Kwasman.

Kwasman from January through March also received over $11,000 in out-of-state contributions, with a maximum $6,650 from Jeffrey Sprecher — founder/CEO of Intercontinental Exchange and chairman of the New York Stock Exchange.

Iheart radio host Jesse Kelly tossed $2,000 to Kwasman's campaign.

Also successfully passing the hat was Jan Dubauskas. After raising $42,436 for her City Council campaign previously, she took in another $53,000 from April through June, bringing her total to $96,000.

She reported spending around $75,000 in the second quarter.

Elijah Norton, an executive with Veritas Global Protection, wrote a check of $3,500 to Dubauskas — her biggest contribution last quarter.

Patrick O'Meara, of Taylor Street Capital Partners, was Dubauskas' top donor in the first quarter, contributing $5,208.

Dubauskas also scored $6,000 from two political action committees: Politics Uncorked ($4,000) and Freedom Club ($2,000).

Maryann McAllen, a former city worker and volunteer board member looking for an elected seat to City Council, raised $1,900 from individual donors in the second quarter, a little less than the $2,401 she raised in the first quarter.

But McAllen also was given $4,950 from Realtors of Arizona, which helped boost her campaign fund to just under $12,000.

Mason Gates, a 21-year-old political rookie, reported raising $5,228 in the first quarter — then tripled that from April through June.

Gates knocked on doors and made business connections to win 50 donations of $100 or more, with just a handful over $1,000.

Promising to "kill road diets," the aggressive young candidate's efforts raised Gates' campaign total to just under $20,000.

Self-funders

Three City Council campaigns were largely self-funded.

Particularly when compared to Caputi, the fundraising efforts of Tom Durham, also running for reelection, are far more modest.

Durham reported raising $18,000 in the last quarter — but most of it was in a loan he gave to himself.

Durham received contributions totaling $1,900.

Similarly, political newcomer Stephen Cesares — after raising no money in the first quarter — reported contributions of $12,000 from April through May.

But it all came in a loan he gave to himself.

In the first quarter of 2024, Robert Lettieri's "Bob for Council" campaign raised $564.

The newcomer to Scottsdale politics pushed his total over $19,000 ... via an $18,000 self-contribution to his campaign.

Lettieri received less than $750 in donations.

Another council challenger, Justin Laos, had $14,418 in his campaign fund at the beginning of March.

His campaign total was roughly double that as of July 1, thanks to a $4,950 contribution from Realtors of Arizona and a $6,000 loan to himself — following a first-quarter loan to himself of $5,000.