City candidates report on spending

By LPR Staff
Editor/POST-REGISTER

As election season winds down in the City of Lockhart, the candidates for four positions on the Lockhart City Council have reported only a fraction of the campaign expenditures borne by their countywide counterparts.

Leading the charge in campaign spending is Rick Womble, who is seeking one of the council’s two At Large positions.

Overall on the campaign trail, Womble has reported $1,080 in campaign fundraising, and $1,844.48 in spending. He also noted a personal loan from himself to his campaign, in the amount of $1,435.73.

According to campaign finance reports filed by Womble on Oct. 4 and Oct. 25, all of Womble’s campaign contributions have come from individual donations of less than $50 each.

The bulk of his spending, $1,083, was paid to LASR Signs, of Lockhart, for signs. He has also paid $648.75 to Upper Case Design for promotional expenses.

Vincent “Rob” Ortiz, III, in a three-way race for the District Two seat occupied by Frank Estrada for more than 20 years, has raised $846.67, while spending $1,392.08.

Nearly $240 of Ortiz’s campaign contributions have been the smaller donations of $50 or less, with a larger influx of financial support in the amount of $596.67 coming from Mary Helen Ortiz.

The same amount, $596.67, was paid to LASR Signs. Ortiz also logged $385 for advertising, and $488.53 for event hosting.

Also in the race for the District 2 seat, John Castillo reported $700 in campaign contributions and $759 in spending.

Castillo’s main expenses were paid to Allied Advertising ($314), LASR Signs ($110) and Logos ($115). He also reported $100 for newspaper advertising.

The third candidate in the District 2 race, Susana DeLaCruz Olson, filed a “modified spending report,” indicating she did not intend to raise or spend more than $500 on her campaign.

The only other candidate to file an itemized report was Doug Shomette, a candidate for one of the two At Large Positions, who noted spending $285.24 with LASR Signs.

The two incumbent At Large candidates, Paul Gomez and Richard “Dick” Wieland, both filed modified spending reports. The fifth candidate, Angie Gonzales Sanchez, did not have a finance report on file on Wednesday morning.

In the race for the District 1 seat being vacated by longtime councilmember Kenny Roland, Juan Mendoza filed a modified finance report, while Kerry Gaddis and Dyral Thomas did not have reports on file.

The top votegetter in the District 1 and District 2 races, along with the top two in the At Large races, will take their places on the Lockhart City Council after the votes are canvassed in November.