There’s been a lot of discussion about the huge amount of money spent this year in our City Council election. At $121,430.49 we have exceeded the total for any previous year, and we only have the spending through October 20. Expect the final total to be well past $150,000.
Previously I noted the close association between the amount of money spent and the results. The previous all-time record setter, Scott Voigts, came in #1 in 2010 followed by the #2 all time spender, Peter Herzog. Howzit in 2012? Exactly the same. The #1 spender was Adam Nick and he came in #1. The #2 spender was Dwight Robinson and he came in #2. And the #3 spender, Terry Anderson, came in #3.
In 2010 the average cost per vote was $2.04. Voigts spent the most, with 11,332 votes for $37,763. That’s an average cost per vote of $3.33. The low cost vote getter was Cathy McCullough, who spent only $0.75 for each vote she received.
In 2012 the average cost per vote has gone up from $2.04 to $3.50 (and that’s based on the incomplete data). That’s an increase of at least 72%. Nick spent the most per vote, at $5.00. If you factor in the money spent by the Republican Party of Orange County to Nick’s figures, then his cost per vote was closer to $7.00 per vote, which is more than twice as much as Voigts spent in 2010.
Here’s the rest of the cost per vote figures for the candidates in 2012. Bear in mind that Carrell didn’t file his FPCC required forms so we don’t know how much he spent.
• Nick - $5.00
• Robinson - $4.24
• Zechmeister - $3.84
• Anderson - $3.71
• Rudolph - $1.54
• Gardner - $1.02
These are preliminary figures. The final vote total is yet to be determined, although it will be more or less in this range. The final expenses must be filed by December 31, and will undoubtedly be much higher, so consider these preliminary figures low ball estimates.
