Finance Report Summary: Amarillo ISD Board Candidates 8 Day

Candidates for Amarillo ISD Board at The Amarillo Pioneer Candidate Forum | FROM LEFT: Connie Brown, Jon Mark Beilue, Ryan Patrick Brown, Kimberly Anderson, and Robin Leeah | Photo by Noah Dawson

Earlier this week, we took a look at the finance reports for candidates for Amarillo Mayor and City Council. Now, we’re taking a look at candidates for Amarillo ISD Board.

The candidate who raised the greatest amount of money was Amarillo Matters Board Member Steve Trafton, who reported $14,761 in contributions. His top donor, James Phillips, gave the campaign $10,000. Jeff Chestnut and Richard Ware each gave $1,000, while both Mitch Carthel and Kevin Nelson (husband of Amarillo Mayor Ginger Nelson) gave $500. Also listed as a donor was Councilman Place 3 Eddy Sauer’s campaign account, which gave $250. Trafton spent $8,260.26, with his largest expense being $6,777.76 paid to PPS Mail.

Coming in second in terms of reported contributions was Connie Brown, who raised $6,750. Her largest donation was Alex and Cheryl Fairly, who gave $4,000 to Brown. Local Teamsters 577 gave $2,000, Craig Gualtiere gave $500, and Kelly Giles gave $250. Brown’s largest expense was to Texans for Educational Freedom, to whom she gave an $8,000 contribution. Brown also reported an in-kind donation from that same group, which sent $5,520 worth of text messages supporting her campaign.

Jon Mark Beilue had the third highest donations total, reporting $4,485 in contributions. He was his own largest contributor, having given his campaign $2,000. Sandra Beilue gave $615 to the campaign, Les Simpson gave $500, Steve Walton gave $350, and Mike Hughes gave $250. His expenses totaled $12,283, with his largest expense being $11,915.22 to Panhandle Presort Services, which performed various services for Beilue’s campaign.

Robin Leeah reported $3,765.06 in contributions, with her largest contributor being Elizabeth Davidson, who gave $2,336.76. Ben Leeah gave $720, and Michelle Gruhlkey gave $500. Leeah spent $5,045.74, with her largest expense being Campaign HQ, which was paid $2,131 for text messages promoting Leeah’s campaign.

Incumbent Dick Ford raised the second lowest amount of money, reporting only $2,325 in contributions. His largest donors were Jo & Cliff Craig, Dean Morrison, and Connie Brown treasurer Tom Roller, who each gave $500 to Ford’s campaign. James W. Wester and Justin Kite each gave $250. Ford’s sole expense was to Square Inc for a banking expense.

Incumbent Kim Anderson released the least amount of money, reporting only $707.94 in contributions. She was her own largest donor, having given her campaign $350. Michael Hughes gave $257.94, while Johnny Mize gave $100. Her expenses totaled $1,439.19, with the largest expense being to Texting for less, to whom she paid $939. Some of the expenses noted on her most recent finance report were originally listed on her previous report, to which she has since issued a correction, noting that $229.87 in expenses to Office Depot, Amarillo National Bank, and FedEx Office were meant to go on the current finance report.

No report was received from Ryan Patrick Brown.

Election Day is Saturday, May 6th. Polls are open from 7 am to 7 pm.