If fundraising can be a difference-maker in the crowded races for mayor of Bellingham and Whatcom County executive, then two contenders look strong at this stage, less than two weeks before ballots are due.
In the executive’s race, incumbent Satpal Sidhu’s campaign haul is double the amount of his five challengers combined, according to candidate filings posted on the state Public Disclosure Commission (PDC) website.
Sidhu’s $77,387 in campaign donations as of Wednesday, July 19, include $5,000 from the candidate himself and $4,800 from four members of the Maberry Packing family, who each gave the maximum $1,200 for the primary election. (Individual donors can give another $1,200 for the general election. Candidates are not limited in how much they can contribute to their own campaigns.)
In the Bellingham mayor’s race, a challenger is proving to be a fundraising force. Kim Lund has received $53,626 in campaign contributions, three times more than incumbent Seth Fleetwood, who has the second-highest total.
In a race that’s largely about the lack of affordable housing in Bellingham, it’s noteworthy that 10 of Lund’s 16 $1,200 donors are connected to the building or real estate industries. Representatives of RAM Construction, IMCO Construction and Birch Equipment are among those who have given Lund the maximum dollar amount for the primary. MJA Real Estate and Squalicum Lofts Development Inc. also are $1,200 donors. Both companies are associated with Mike and James Allsop.
Lund says she is running a “housing-forward” campaign, but her donors are people she knows from her time as executive director of the Bellingham Public Schools Foundation.
“I’ve developed trusting relationships and working relationships with these business owners through my work at the foundation,” Lund said. “They’re investing in my campaign because they’ve seen my leadership in action.”
Breaking down Mayor Fleetwood’s $17,781 campaign total so far, 29% has come from close to home: himself, his mother Julie Fleetwood and stepfather John Binns.
Despite being far behind one of his challengers in fundraising, Fleetwood said his campaign was “on track with my goals and timelines.”
Among other mayoral candidates, building designer Mike McAuley has raised $12,338, primarily from individuals. McAuley’s total was provided by Christy Carey, his campaign treasurer, correcting a discrepancy in the PDC numbers for the candidate.
Chris McCoy, founder of Bellingham-based beverage business Kombucha Town, has $8,044 in contributions. He donated $6,940 of that himself.
Mayoral candidate Kristina Michele Martens, a sitting city council member, has $4,000 in donations. As a political newcomer in 2021, Martens raised more than $69,000 for her council race — the highest fundraising total ever for a Bellingham City Council candidate, according to the PDC.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” Martens said, with a laugh. “The campaign team that surrounded me was incredible … and that is because I really needed to get my name out there.”
For the mayor’s race this year, Martens said she is running her own campaign, and she designed her “Kristina for mayor” website herself — without the ubiquitous “donate” button.
“I am going to do the least amount of fundraising possible for this,” Martens said.
“What you spend it on is yard signs. You spend it on those mailers that immediately go into everyone’s recycle bin,” she added, also mentioning the typical campaign spending for digital ads on Pandora and Google.
“That’s to make sure people in the community know what you’re working on,” Martens said. “I am hoping I have proven what I am working on, so I don’t need to spend money on all of those things.”
In distant second place behind Sidhu in fundraising for the county executive’s race is state Rep. Alicia Rule of Blaine, who has raised $15,540 so far.
Most of Rule’s money comes from outside Whatcom County. The state Democratic Party gave $1,250, and lobbyists Bill Stauffacher and Isaac Kastama each contributed the maximum $1,200. (State party organizations may donate as much as $1.20 per registered voter in the county per year. For Whatcom County in 2023, their limit is $189,129.60.)
Rounding out the contribution totals for executive candidates, Sukhwant Gill has received $10,794, Barry Buchanan $7,633, Dan Purdy $3,293 and Misty Flowers $2,161.
Management consultant Purdy’s campaign has a debt of $21,998.
Buchanan, a Whatcom County Council member, said a lot of regular donors are sitting on the sidelines for the primary election.
“There are three name-recognition Democrats on the ballot in the primary, and people are just not committing,” Buchanan said, referring to Sidhu, Rule and himself.
“Literally, they don’t know what to do,” he added. “It’ll come down to Election Day, and they’ll invest with their vote.”
