$30,000 Donation Gives Lockhart Fundraising Edge In Fairfax City Mayor’s Race

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — A $30,000 donation helped Kirsten Lockhart build a substantial fundraising advantage over Thomas D. Peterson in the Fairfax City mayor’s race, although the two candidates reported similar amounts of campaign spending through Aug. 31.

The Lockhart for Fairfax political action committee reported $38,535.80 in contributions since Jan. 1, including $82.80 in donated goods or services. The Thomas D. Peterson for Mayor PAC reported $11,303.10, all in monetary contributions, according to campaign finance reports filed with the Virginia State Board of Elections.

Lockhart ended August with $33,807.01 on hand, compared with Peterson’s $7,057.65 — a nearly $26,750 advantage and about 4.8 times her opponent’s balance.

The analysis uses the latest available filings covering activity through Aug. 31, including Lockhart’s amended reports. Peterson’s first listed reporting period began June 12. The figures do not include September campaign activity.

One Donation Accounts For Most Of Lockhart’s Funding

William Fields, identified in Lockhart’s report as retired with a Fairfax mailing address, contributed $30,000 on Aug. 11. His donation accounted for nearly 78 percent of her campaign’s total contributions since January.

Lockhart’s other funding sources combined provided $8,535.80.

Her next-largest itemized donor was Timothy John Lockhart Jr., who contributed $1,000. James Feather, Providence Supervisor Dalia Palchik (D) and Stephen Sides each contributed $500 during the period.

Lockhart reported $2,778 in unitemized monetary contributions, for which individual donors were not identified in the reports.

The campaign’s fundraising increased sharply during the final reporting period. After reporting $6,070 in contributions through July 23, Lockhart received another $32,465.80 between July 24 and Aug. 31, including Fields’ donation. Lockhart’s latest report

Peterson’s Two Largest Donors Gave $2,000 Each

Peterson’s largest donors were William Fournier and William Bruce Jennings, who each contributed $2,000. Fournier was listed as retired, while Jennings was listed as the owner of Fairfax City Self Storage.

Together, their donations accounted for about 35 percent of Peterson’s fundraising.

Steve Chang, Chapman Petersen and Steven Stombres each contributed $1,000. Those five donors supplied nearly 62 percent of Peterson’s total contributions. Rob Lederer contributed another $959.70.

Also See ...

• How Four Fairfax Candidates Voted On Taxes, Trails, Housing And Willard-Sherwood
• How Kirsten Lockhart Voted On Seven Fairfax City Projects And Plans
• Tom Peterson’s Fairfax Voting Record: Taxes, Trails, Housing And Willard-Sherwood

Three of those donors are former elected officials — Petersen represented the city in both the Virginia Senate and House of Delegates, while Lederer and Stombres both served as mayor. The fourth candidate, Chang, is currently running for a seat on the Fairfax City Council in the Nov. 3 election.

Peterson reported $10,259.70 in itemized contributions from 12 named individuals and $1,043.40 in unitemized contributions.

Like Lockhart, Peterson received most of his funding during the latest reporting period. Contributions of $8,078.10 between July 24 and Aug. 31 accounted for about 71 percent of his total. Peterson’s July report, latest report

Spending Totals Were Close, With Different Emphases

Despite the fundraising gap, Lockhart’s cash spending exceeded Peterson’s by only $400.54.

Lockhart reported $4,645.99 in cash expenditures. Including donated goods or services, her reported expenditures totaled $4,728.79. Peterson reported spending $4,245.45.

Printing vendors received $2,470.02 from Lockhart’s campaign, about 53 percent of its cash spending, for items including yard signs, door cards, stickers and banners. Minuteman Press was her largest vendor, receiving $1,757.20.

Lockhart also spent $944.46 on food, catering and ice, along with payments for pool sponsorships, a pavilion rental, website services and campaign photography.

Peterson directed about 76 percent of his spending toward printed materials and newspaper advertisements. Executive Press of Virginia received $1,800.45, while two print advertisements totaled $1,065. Printing Ideas received $345.01.

His remaining spending covered website and social media services, email services and a subscription.

By Aug. 31, Peterson had spent about 38 percent of his monetary contributions, compared with about 12 percent for Lockhart. Neither campaign reported outstanding loans or unpaid debts in its latest filing.