PAC Contributions Top $30K In Tuscaloosa City Council Race

Tuscaloosa AL

19 July, 2021

11:57 AM

Description

TUSCALOOSA, AL — It's a little more than a week before voters in Tuscaloosa will once again cast ballots to decide who will be the next occupant of the District 7 seat on the Tuscaloosa City Council. The race will see former incumbent Sonya McKinstry try to win a rematch against challenger Cassius Lanier, who won the election on March 2 by 28 votes, only to see the results thrown out due to his eligibility to qualify ahead of the deadline. As with other races during the recent cycle, a consistent talking point has been the contributions of various political action committees (PACs). Lanier has wielded a noticeable advantage in this respect, more than doubling McKinstry's PAC contributions since Jan. 1. ALSO READ: Virtual District 7 City Council Candidate Forum Set For Thursday Patch took a look at campaign finance reports in the days ahead of the election to get a renewed viewpoint of fundraising and spending before the ballots are cast. Cassius Lanier $3,000 in total reported contributions in July, along with $2,125.17 in total expenditures Lanier has received just short of $8,000 in contributions from political action committees since the March 2 election including: Fire and Rescue PAC ($2,000 on March 21), Alabama Realtors PAC ($2,877.88 on May 21), ET PAC ($1,000 on June 10), Cash PAC ($1,000 on June 23), and ET PAC ($1,000 On June 18). Since Jan. 1, Lanier has received $21, 377.88 from eight different PACs, with the largest single contributions coming in the amount of $5,000 from Future PAC and Alabama Realtors PAC. Worth noting: Druid City Properties has been far and away the biggest corporate contributor to Lanier's campaign coffers, giving $7,000 spread out over two different payouts this campaign season. Click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter and breaking news alerts. Sonya McKinstry $3,936 in total reported contributions in July, along with $4,090 in expenditures. McKinstry has received one donation from a political action committee since the March 2 election, coming in the amount of $2,200 from BIZPAC in June. Since Jan 1, McKinstry has received $9,180 from four different PACs, with the largest single contribution coming early on in the campaign from CRA PAC in the amount of $3,400. Other contributors include Free Enterprise PAC ($2,425) and WIN PAC ($2,000). Worth noting: While her biggest contributions have come from political action committees, she has also received public support from candidates who ran in the previous campaign cycle, as she reported $100 donations from former mayoral candidate Serena Fortenberry and former District 1 City Council candidate Que Chandler. Have a news tip or suggestion on how I can improve Tuscaloosa Patch? Maybe you're interested in having your business become one of the latest sponsors for Tuscaloosa Patch? Email all inquiries to me at [email protected].