Erie County Executive Brenton Davis ended 2021 with roughly $500 in his campaign war chest and nearly $45,000 of debt, according to his latest campaign finance report filed with the county elections board Jan. 31.
The $44,700 in debt comes from six loans taken out by Davis throughout the campaign, including a $5,000 loan and a $500 loan Davis used to kickstart his campaign in March.
While it’s not uncommon for campaigns to incur debt, it does distinguish Davis, a Republican, from his former Democratic rival, Tyler Titus, who ended the year in the black, according to campaign finance filings.
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Davis has declined to comment on his finances.
He’s also been tight-lipped about a fundraiser held at the Bayfront Convention Center on Jan. 11, eight days after being sworn in as county executive.
Despite posting photos of the event on his Facebook page — which showed about 20 attendees, including Republican state Sen. Dan Laughlin, of Millcreek Township, R-49th Dist. — Davis has declined to answer questions regarding how much money was raised.
County Director of Administration Doug Smith told the Erie Times-News on Monday that the county executive did not see the “relevance” of the questions.
If Davis was holding the fundraiser for his campaign, he wouldn’t have to report the amount raised until the filing of his next financial report on Jan. 31, 2023, according to the Erie County Board of Elections.
Davis’ campaign spent less than Titus’
In 2021, the Davis campaign spent a total of $441,383, roughly $230,000 less than the Titus camp, which spent about $672,000. Both candidates’ campaigns spent virtually all the money they raised.
Financial reports stretching back to May show much of Davis’ campaign dollars were used for broadcast advertising and political consulting.
Between June 6 and Nov. 22, Davis spent close to $208,000 on advertising by SCRP Media, which identifies itself as one of the leading Republican political media firms in the country.
In the same period, Davis paid roughly $140,000 to Coldspark, a Pittsburgh-based political consulting company, and nearly $35,000 for survey work by Osage, a research agency also based in Pittsburgh.
Davis had $1,486 in his campaign coffers following the Nov. 2 election and raised an additional $5,850 between Nov. 23 and Dec. 31.
His campaign then spent $6,837 — $4,000 went to Coldspark to build a website — leaving him with $498 at year’s end.
The Titus campaign ended the year with $2,310 in leftover funds. The bulk of the campaign’s funds also went toward advertising.
Titus outraises and outspends:Democrat Tyler Titus outraises, outspends GOP’s Brenton Davis in Erie County executive race
Between June 6 and Nov. 22, the Titus campaign spent roughly $240,000 on advertising space from Screen Strategies Media, a media strategy and consulting agency that primarily caters to Democratic Party candidates.
Contributions
In 2021, the Davis campaign raised $441,882, roughly $230,000 less than the Titus camp, which raised about $672,147.
Titus, who sought to become the first openly transgender county executive in the country, attracted several out-of-state donors and raised more than $80,000 by May. Davis raised only $15,000 in the same timeframe.
By the end of October, total cash contributions, including money left over from the primary, between the two candidates reached $994,359.
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This sum more than tripled what former Erie County Executive Kathy Dahlkemper and her GOP opponent Art Oligeri collectively raised for their general election contest in 2017, according to an analysis of campaign finance reports.
Erie businessman and attorney Roger Richards, who later was appointed head of Davis’ transition team, contributed roughly $200,000 to Davis’ campaign.
Wisconsin resident Chris Abele, a multimillionaire Democrat who served as Milwaukee County executive from 2011 to 2020, was Titus’ largest benefactor, infusing in excess of $200,000 into Titus’ general election campaign.
A.J. Rao can be reached at arao@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @ETNRao.
