MIDDLETOWN — So far, the city’s youngest candidate for Middletown City Council is also the leading fundraiser and spender in the 2009 ward races.

According to campaign finance reports that were due by 4 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 22, 2nd Ward candidate A.J. Smith has raised $4,597 and has spent $4,029 in his race against fellow candidate John Soppanish for the open council seat.

State law requires a campaign finance report to be filed with the Butler County Board of Elections if $1,000 was raised or spent prior to Thursday’s deadline.

Top contributors include Roger Steven Dillman, $500; Steven Hightower, $300; Michael Scorti, $200; Tyrone Thomas, $100; Adriane Scherrer, $350; Avalon Consulting Group, $240; Ruth Ann Tracy, $100; Dan Tracy, $100; Joe Wittman, $250; Change Butler County PAC, $333; Butler County Progressive PAC, $500; Todd Jermaine Martin, $100; Anthony Klimek, $100.

He also had three unnamed donors who contributed a total of $268.

Smith also used his Web site to solicit campaign donations from out of state, with the largest, $467, from an Indianapolis dental firm. Other online donations totalled nearly $113.

His largest in-kind donations was from the 2005 Group/Richard Isroff for $900 in office rental; ACF Mortgage Co. of Cincinnati for $336 for mailers; Haines Consulting of Canton for $1,000 for political consulting; Creative Designs for $700 in campaign literature design; and $480 to the 2005 Group/Richard Isroff.

Smith’s expenses include $480 to the 2005 Group/Richard Isroff for office utilities; $1,078 in advertising; $292 to Shelly’s Signs & Graphics of Fairfield for office window signage; $224 to Signrocket of Minnesota for advertising; $250 to Bob Goughenour for advertising design; and $361 to Digital Visuals for signs.

Incumbent 1st Ward Councilman Jim Armbruster was the next highest on the campaign money list. Armbruster is seeking re-election to his second term on council.

Armbruster reported receiving $3,920 in contributions and spending only $852.

Top contributors to Armbruster’s campaign were Kenneth Cohen, $500; T.A. Dobrozsi, $100; Harry A. Finkelman Inc., $250; Rachel Lewitt, $250; Thomas Hazelbaker, $100; Alan McCoy, $500; Robinson Realtors, $100; John Sawyer, $100; Michael Scorti, $200; Richard Slagle, $100; Robert Breitenbach, $100; David Horn of Cincinnati, $250; Heath Valentine, $100; James Wainscott, $500; and a loan from Armbruster for $100.

His largest expense is ABS Publishing for $810 for printed letters, postage, and envelopes.

Incumbent 3rd Ward Councilman Tony Marconi, also seeking a second term on council, reported raising $3,525 in contributions and spending $2,506 in his campaign.

Marconi also reported a $2,209 loaned to his committee for signs.

Many of Marconi’s top contributors mirrored Armbruster’s top contributors. Among those were Michael Scorti, $200; John Sawyer, $100; Richard Slagle, $100; Alan McCoy, an AK Steel Corp. vice president, $500; Thomas Hazelbaker, $100; T.A. Dobrozsi, $100; Kenneth Cohen, $500; James Wainscott, AK Steel Corp.’s president, chairman and CEO, $500; David Horn of Cincinnati, $250; and James Akers, CEO of Akers Packaging Services, $750.

In addition to the signs, Marconi’s largest expense was to Strategic Advantage Consulting of Hamilton for $2,500.

Daniel Picard, a 4th Ward candidate, reported raising $2,645 and spending $1,289 on his campaign.

His largest contributor was Douglas W. McNeill, president of Atrium Medical Center, who gave $1,200. Other top contributors were Alan McCoy, $500; Andrew Singer, $150; Stephen O’Neil, $100; Robinson Inc. Realtors, $100; and Picard himself, $300.

Picard’s largest expense was $1,137 to ABS Publishing for signs, envelopes, labels and accessories.

Joshua Laubach, who is challenging Marconi for the 3rd Ward seat, reported raising $1,410 and spending $1,275 on his campaign.

Laubach, who was 22 minutes late filing his report Thursday with the elections board, also reported in-kind contributions of $95 and a $847 loan from his committee.

His top contributors included Chris Langhorne, $100; Keith and Debbie Clements, $100; Lois Laubach, $100; Kevin Puckett, $100; Larry Wood, $200; and Lois Wood, $200.

Laubach’s largest expense was for signs to Digital Visuals for at total of $740.

Candidates Paul Nagy, Gary Barge and John Soppanish did not file campaign finance reports.

It was no surprise who contributed to those campaigns. Are there so few people in town that does not see (or care) what has been going on? Apparently, since Middletown has been on this same path for years. I can't see that there will be much improvement for years to come with all these like minded people running the show. I wish I could have stuck my head thru the TV and told the incumbents at the last forum to talk to a couple of small business owners I know and let them tell how business unfriendly Middletown is. I'm sure there are some businesses that haven't had any problems but council hasn't done much to improve their image.

I would have to agree with you, Tudor Brown.

I find it exceptionally accepting as a citizen that Mr. Smith raised the most money in the city, but not from your institutional, status quo, good ol' boy donors.

Think about it, he didn’t take a dime from Wainscott, McCoy, McNeil, Cohen, Akers, any of them. He's definitely the change we need on City Council. I'm rooting for you, Mr. Smith.

Ice Box wrote: Anybody know why Nagy, Soppanish and Barge decided not to file?

The statement required under division (A)(1) of this section shall not be required of any campaign committee, political action committee, legislative campaign fund, political party, or political contributing entity that has received contributions of less than one thousand dollars and has made expenditures of less than one thousand dollars at the close of business on the twentieth day before the election.