Gillins, Ross top Ward 6 fundraising

Dan Kulin

Wednesday, March 30, 2005 | 9:25 a.m.

Almost all of the Las Vegas politicians who got a free pass to re-election this year also easily out-fundraised the candidates in the city's contested elections, according to campaign finance disclosures that were due Tuesday.

Among those in the contested elections, Ward 6 City Council candidates Mary Gillins and Steve Ross boasted the largest campaign takes, with more than $140,000 in donations received each.

Also, many of the candidates involved in the contested city elections -- the Ward 6 seat on the City Council and the race for judge in the municipal court's Department 5 -- were their own biggest contributors with sizeable loans to their campaigns.

The 11 candidates for Ward 6 and the two candidates for judge are on the ballot for the city's April 5 primary election.

Early voting lasts through Friday. If a candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the primary they are declared the winner, and so the judge's race is expected to end in the primary. Otherwise, the top two vote getters from the primary face off in the June 7 general election.

Candidates had until Tuesday to either turn in their campaign finance reports to the city or send them to the city by certified mail. The reports covered contributions and expenses from Jan. 1 through Thursday.

The top fundraiser was Councilman Larry Brown, who took in $243,250 and spent $52,001 during the reporting period.

Councilman Steve Wolfson wasn't far behind, according to his report, with $207,350 in donations. He spent $27,926 and had $1,201 of in-kind donations, which are donations of materials or services and not cash.

Brown and Wolfson were automatically re-elected to the council because no one filed to run against them.

Also automatically re-elected were Municipal Judges George Assad and Betsy Kolkoski.

According to their reports, Assad raised $154,954 and spent $7,669. He also had $19,008 in in-kind donations, which appeared to be mostly connected to campaign fundraisers thrown for him.

Kolkoski was the only incumbent who bucked the fundraising trend of the other incumbents. She raised $27,451 and spent $48,775, plus had in-kind donations of $1,077.

In the race for the Ward 6 seat on the council, Gillins and Ross were the top fundraisers and spenders.

Gillins, a legal assistant and operations manager for the Las Vegas Police Protective Association, raised $161,970, including $17,000 she loaned her own campaign. Gillins said she spent about $117,000 on the campaign.

Ross, general manager of Keleeco Electric, raised $149,070 and spent $84,522 on his campaign. Ross also had $3,482 in in-kind contributions.

Among the top contributors to their own campaigns was Ward 6 candidate Jeff Crisman, a retiree whose $31,325 in campaign donations included a $30,000 loan from him. Crisman had spent $20,321 on his campaign, the report said.

Realtor Marlene Rogoff also self-funded a substantial portion of her campaign. The $10,081 she raised included an $8,831 loan from her. She spent $10,080 on her campaign.

Robert D. Glover, managing partner of an insurance agency, was the only candidate who reported not raising or spending any money on his campaign.

But Troy P. Bulloch, manager of the Fort Cheyenne casino was close. Bulloch raised and spent $100.

In the rest of the field:

In the Municipal Court race, incumbent Judge Cedric Kerns raised $159,700 and spent $127,374. Kerns also had $14,939 in in-kind donations, which included a $4,418 cocktail reception at the Golden Nugget and $5,000 in free billboards from Clear Channel.

His challenger, attorney Mat Harter, raised $44,549, with all except $150 of that coming in a loan he gave to his campaign. Harter spent $44,549 on the campaign, according to the report.