FROM LEFT: Brady Clark, Irene Hughes, Michele Fortunato, Jay Barrett, Mike Yazbek, Jason Foglesong | Photo by Noah Dawson
Throughout the week leading up to election day, we have been looking at the finance reports for candidates for Mayor of Amarillo, Amarillo City Council, and Amarillo ISD Board. Now, we are looking at the reports filed by candidates for Amarillo College Board. These reports covered the period from March 28th to April 28th.
Incumbent Michele Fortunato raised and spent the most of all candidates, with $4,090.98 in contributions and $7,162.78 in expenses. Her largest donor, James & Barbara Whitton, gave $515.38. Richard & Kay Brown came in second at $500. Several others, including Mayor Ginger Nelson, Councilman Howard Smith, Trevor Caviness, Jason Herrick, Ryan Thurman, Nita & Wales Madden III, and Neal Nossaman & Greg Welch each gave $250. Her largest expense was PPS, which she gave $5,572.44 for printing services.
Irene Hughes came in second in terms of both expenses and contributions. Hughes raised $3,805 and spent $5,357. Her top three donors, Texas Agri Plex LLC, David Timm, and Harold Grall, each gave $500. Her largest expense was to Campaign HQ for text messaging, which cost $2,131.
Educator Jason Foglesong had the third highest expenses total, having spent $3,454.17. Foglesong reported only two contributions, one from Martha Sell who gave $300 and one from Craig Gaultiere who gave $250. His biggest expense was to PPS for mailers, which cost $2,000.
Brady Clark raised $2,275 and spent $2,593.95. His largest contributors were Susan Burks and Dr. Robert Pinkston, who each gave $500. Christopher J. Smallwood rounded out his top three donors with a $300 donation. Amarillo College Board members Michele Fortunato, Johnny Mize, and Anette Carlisle also gave to Clark. Clark’s expenses totaled $2,593.95, with his largest being for $1,078.20 to XI - Eleven Marketing for signs, pins, cards, and flyers.
Incumbent Jay Barrett did not report any contributions, though he did report $1,569.28 in expenses, with the largest expense being for $1,009.32 paid to Signs on the Cheap.
Mike Yazbek reported a $100 contribution from H. Bryan Poff and a $65 expenditure for yard signs.
Election Day is Saturday, May 6th. Polls are open from 7 am to 7 pm.