WORCESTER – On Tuesday’s election day, Worcester political candidates increased their spending in the final month of the campaign, according to reports from the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
Mayoral candidates led spending in October, but several City Council candidates upped their spending.
The reports are based on documents available as of Friday afternoon. Candidates spend most of the year raising money for their races.
The city said it expects a big turnout this year. About 5,300 ballots had been cast as of Friday, both in-person early voting and early mail-in voting, according to the city clerk’s office. About 4,300 voted by mail and about 1,000 voted in person early. More than 8,000 ballots were mailed to Worcester voters.
In the race for mayor, incumbent Joseph M. Petty faced off against council members Christian E. King and Donna M. Corio also faced challenges from Guillermo Creamer Jr. and William S. Coleman.
Petty led the way, raising about $30,303 and spending about $51,874. At the end of October, he had about $12,881.
King raised about $5,296 and spent $21,782. At the end of the month, he had about $9,965.
Corio raised about $7,894 and spent $24,758. At the end of the month, she had $13,182.
Creamer’s full report raised about $1,938 and spent $1,863. However, Cramer said he raised $6,000 in October and that the checks arrived Thursday after the Office of Campaign and Political Finance report was completed.
The Coleman Committee does not raise or disburse funds.
All of the mayoral candidates are part of an at-large city council field that has been rounded out by six additional candidates: incumbents Thu Nguyen, Maurice Bergman and Kathleen Toomey, as well as Domenica Peron, Maidy Morales and Johanna-Hampton Dance.
Nguyen raised about $7,787 and spent about $9,199 in October. At the end of the month, they had about $5,226.
Bergman did not report any money raised in October and spent about $13,415. At the end of the month, he had about $16,527.
Toomey raised about $2,271 and spent about $1,954. At the end of the month, she had $12,948.
Perrone raised about $6,391 and spent $16,785. At the end of the month, she had $5,663.
Morales raised about $1,417 and spent $10,242. At the end of the month, she had $2,848.
Hampton Dance raised about $511 and spent about $970. At the end of the month, she had about $312.
Regarding district competition:
In District 1, Jenny Pacillo raised about $2,947 in October and spent $3,115. At the end of the month, she had $8,382. David C. Peterson raised about $3,417 and spent $1,119. At the end of the month, he had about $2,596.
In District 2, Candy F. Mero-Carlson raised about $1,200 and spent $11,926. At the end of the month, she had $38,760. Robert A. Bilotta raised $3,760 and spent $4,358. At the end of the month, he had about $4,445.
In District 3, incumbent George J. Russell raised about $3,400 and spent $12,081. At the end of the month, he had about $57,896. Feana Jatan-Singhi raised $716 and spent about $998. At the end of the month, she had about $38.
In District 4, Luis Albizu Ojeda raised about $2,415 and spent $1,377. At the end of the month, he had about $3,214. Katya Gisela Norford raised about $437 and spent about $87. At the end of the month, she had about $811.
In District 5, incumbent Ethel Hakshiage raised about $4,039 and spent about $5,513. At the end of the month, she had $35,256. Jose Antonio Rivera raised about $7,866 and spent $6,029. At the end of the month, he had about $3,495.
School Committee fundraising numbers released
School Committee candidates have posted their fundraisers on the city’s website.
Previously, all School Committee candidates were elected to at-large seats, but a coalition of groups filed charges that the system was discriminatory, creating a new electoral map and districts.
Now there are two big seats and six individual circuit seats marked A to F. Not all seats are contested.
Incumbents Laura Clancy, Sue Mailman and Tracy O’Connell Novick, as well as former Superintendent Maureen F. They include Bininda.
Incumbent Jermoh Camara and former committee member Diana Biancheria are running in District C, and newcomers Nellie Medina and Kathleen Roy are running in District E.
Incumbent committee member Molly McCullough is the only candidate in District A, Vanessa Alvarez is the only candidate in District B, Alejandro Guardiola is the only candidate running in District D, and current committee member Jermaine Johnson is the only candidate running in District F.
For competitive races, the following financial information is reported:
In the big race, O’Connell Novick raised about $5,346 and spent about $6,619 from the start of the year through Oct. 29. At the end of the period, she was left with $3,902.
Melman has raised about $17,925 and spent about $20,631 since the start of the year through Oct. 25. At the end of the period, she had about $8,068 left.
Classy has raised about $3,740 and spent about $2,359 since the start of the year through Oct. 27. At the end of the period, she had about $2,583 left.
Bininda has raised about $19,620 and spent $14,274 since the beginning of the year through Oct. 20. At the end of the period, she had about $5,346 left.
In the District C race, Kamara raised about $11,886 and spent about $7,973 from the beginning of the year through Oct. 30. At the end of the period, she had about $4,164 left. Biancheria raised about $8,091 and spent about $4,144 from the start of the year through Oct. 21. At the end of the period, she had about $4,676 left.
In District E, Medina collected about $2,700 and spent more than $1,800 from Aug. 29 to Oct. 30. She started the period at $412 and ended the period at about $677. Roy raised about $1,604 and spent about $1,301 from the start of the year through Oct. 20. At the end of the period, she had about $3,063 left.
Political action committees
Two local independent spending political action committees reported spending for October.
The progressive Worcester Working Families IEPAC is on track to raise about $16,883 and spend about $12,438 this year, according to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
Worcester Working Families Haxhiaj, King, Nguyen, Bilotta, Creamer, Pacillo, Morales, Perrone and Hampton-Dance have released support for the City Council; and challenging Bergman, Mero-Carlson, Petty, Colorio, Toomey, and Rivera.
The PAC also supports Medina, Camara, Mailman and O’Connell Novick for School Committee and opposes Roe.
The Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Progress Worcester IEPAC raised $57,475 this year and spent $27,266. He passed on support for Petty, Peterson, Rivera and Mero-Carlson. He also publicly endorses Bergman, Twomey and Kramer.