From left: Winston, Collins, Burnett, Stanley, McGunegle | Photo by Noah Dawson
Over the last few weeks, we have been diving into the campaign finance reports for local candidates. We have already covered candidates for Amarillo College, Amarillo ISD, and Canyon ISD. Now, we’re looking at the contenders looking to become Amarillo’s next mayor.
Amarillo City Councilman Cole Stanley raised the most amount of money of any candidate, with $52,934 in reported contributions. Stanley’s biggest donor was Trent and Joella Morgan, who gave $10,000 to Stanley’s campaign. Rounding out Stanley’s top five donors were Kriss Cloninger, Lynn Morgan, Dipakkumar Patel, who each gave $5,000, and Melissa Stanley, who gave $3,000. While Stanley raised the most amount of money, he did not report any expenses. The Amarillo Pioneer reached out to Stanely for comment, and we have a full story on the topic here.
Amarillo City Councilwoman Freda Powell had the second highest contributions total, with $20,083.20 reported. Powell’s largest contributor was Amy Taylor, who gave $1,500. Rounding out Powell’s top five donors were Bev and Bill Harris, Denis and Andrew Marshall, Don and Twanna Powell, and Patricia Peterson, who each contributed $1,000. Powell spent a total of $14,674.72, with her largest expense being $8,840.20, paid to MCMC for “professional fees, signs, printing, and media.” Powell also reported $29,020.03 in contributions maintained, which includes money left over from previous council campaigns. (Fellow city council member Cole Stanley reported $54,219.26 left in the bank. The difference between his contributions and contributions maintained is also likely due to leftover cash from his 2021 campaign.)
Tonya C. Winston had the third-highest contribution total, reporting $3,518.06 in donations. Winston’s largest donor was Barbara Clayton, who gave $792. After Clayton, the four donors who gave the most to Winston were Cathy Williams, who gave $650, Betty Hood, who gave $611.06, Curtis Barlow, who gave $350, and Roose Goodin, who gave $300. Winston reported a total of $2785.52 in expenses, with her largest expense being $1,230 paid to Lamar Signs.
Don Collins reported a total of $610 in contributions. The $610 came from 5 donors, with his largest donor being Lorraine Hysmith, who gave $250. Juanita Kemper and Richard Hunter each gave $100, while Melodee Campbell and Vicke Moore each gave $80. While Winston beat out Collins in raising money, he did report a higher expense total, having spent $2,906.73. The largest expenditure for Collins was $1,313.63, paid to FastSign over two purchases each for 50 yard signs.
Sam Burnett’s only activity reported was a $183.86 contribution, which was reported as being anonymous. Burnett did not report any expenses.
Of the six candidates on the ballot, the only candidate who did not submit a finance report was Jeffrey McGunegle, who declared Modified Reporting, as he does not expect to raise or spend more than $500.
Be sure to be on the lookout for our report on the finance reports for Amarillo City Council candidates, which will be coming soon!