2017 Longview council races shattered money-raising record

“As a candidate, I was really shocked by the fact that there was that much spent,” said Amber Rosewood, who ran unsuccessfully against councilman Steve Moon. “The (median) income for a Longview family is $42,000. So to look at that number was mind-boggling to me.”

Moon said he was also shocked by the amount of money spent for council seats, which are, officially at least, nonpartisan.

“It does concern me to a point that this much money is being spent on campaigns … but that’s unfortunately part of the nature of the beast,” Moon said. “Signs aren’t cheap. Ads aren’t cheap. It all adds up quickly. To get your message out there, you need to raise money.”

The previous record for contributions to Longview council races was about $20,000 in 2009. In 2015, all opponents ran unopposed and reported raising a total of $250 combined.

Rosewood’s total contributions in 2017 were a little more than $4,000.

Her opponent, Moon, raised about the same amount of money. But he and candidates Chet Makinster and MaryAlice Wallis each received an additional $3,800 in independent expenditure contributions from the Washington Realtors Political Action Committee and Conservatives for an Optimistic Future.

Moon beat Rosewood with 57 percent of the vote.

Dianne Quast, who lost to incumbent Chet Makinster, said she originally planned to spend less than $5,000 on her campaign. She ended up raising $7,000, but Makinster raised more than twice that (including the independent expenditure contributions) and beat her with 61 percent of the vote.

“Obviously we think that it’s worth putting some money into campaigns because that’s how people get to make decisions about how they’re going to vote,” Quast said. “(But) I think the excess of funds that was spent ... was beyond the pale.”

Makinster could not be reached for comment Friday.

Real estate and developer groups handed out more than $17,000 to last year’s council campaigns in the form of cash contributions and independent expenditures on behalf of candidates.

Mary Jane Melink, who vacated her council seat last year after 12 years, said the extent of the real estate and developer contributions was a new thing in council races.

“I’ve never seen that kind of interest from the real estate industry in my tenure on council,” she said. “The housing market is really tight right now, and houses are moving quickly, so maybe there are more resources for them to spend on political races.”

About $6,500 came into the Longview races from the Washington Realtors Political Action Committee (PAC).

Rosewood said she found that concerning, particularly because Councilman Mike Wallin is a member of that PAC and donated $5,000 to the group last year. Wallin also chairs the endorsement committee for the Lower Columbia Association of Realtors, which directs the flow of campaign money to council candidates.

Wallin personally contributed $500 each to the Wallis and Makinster campaigns.

Wallin said his role as chairman has no outsized influence over whom the local realtor PAC decides to endorse and said he doesn’t benefit personally.

“My job is basically to get all of our members together. The members decide what’s important to them, who to endorse and why. It’s all a member-based decision and it’s done through a committee process,” Wallin said.

Councilman Moon said he was surprised to hear concern about real-estate influence because he says he has met with the group during multiple previous elections while seeking an endorsement. He thought the large amount of contributions from the local realtor and developer community might indicate support for recent council efforts to reduce zoning restrictions on new housing developments.

“Multiple people have reached out on the building and selling sides saying they need help,” Moon said. “What we did to reach out and try to make changes spoke volumes, I think.”

First-time candidate Wallis said receiving the endorsement of the state realtor PAC felt like winning a college scholarship — it took a lot of work. She filled out a lengthy application and then interviewed with members of the group.

“The process is rigorous, and it’s open to all candidates,” she said. “I can only say that I did what everybody had the opportunity to do to — to participate in the process — and I was the one who received the endorsement.”

Wallis said she had to work for the endorsement by studying regulations related to building transactions, zoning codes and taxation guidelines. But the endorsement doesn’t come with any obligations, she said.

“They’re saying ‘We feel that you’re the best candidate with the best qualifications so we’re going to give you an endorsement,’ ” Wallis said. “(But) they understand that the position I’m running for is nonpartisan. That was very clear.”

Longview Mayor Don Jensen said endorsements and financial contributions don’t affect council members’ decision-making

“I wouldn’t be leaning one way or another because somebody supported me. Maybe they would want you to, but they are out of luck,” he said with a laugh. “The citizens are the ones who elected me and the other council members to do their business. So that’s what we’ll do. I don’t see anything that would change the way we think.”

Councilwoman Wallis, who defeated Megan Richie to replace Melink on the council, raised more than any other council candidate: almost $18,000. She had $2,000 left at the end of her campaign, which she donated to the Lower Columbia College student foundation, the Emergency Support Shelter and Community House on Broadway.

To campaign seriously, candidates need to raise money, she said.

“When you’re all in, you have to play like the big leagues, and sometimes it costs a lot of money,” she said.

Councilman Wallin argued that increased campaign funding last year reflects a more engaged electorate.

“When you compare it to past elections when there weren’t any choices, naturally you wouldn’t get any involvement from anyone,” he said. “When you get different points of view, you’ll get more choices. It’s healthy. It’s good to get an exchange of ideas so voters have a choice.”

Former Councilwoman Melink, while surprised at the total amount of money, shared Wallin’s perspective.

“The fact that there’s more money, does that price people out from the opportunity to run? For sure. But in general, the more interest in local government, the better,” Melink said.

Moon said rising campaign spending may become a new norm in council politics, as it has on a national and state level.

“We’re seeing more investment into the candidates and more interested parties getting involved in the local, state and federal levels,” he said. “People are getting more involved in their community, and they want to invest in who they think is going to be the best to represent them.”

Quast, however, said she hoped last year was a one-time occurrence.

“If it’s not, I would certainly advocate that the community think about limiting campaign spending,” she said. “Otherwise it limits the number of people who can run.”

Quast added that if she were to run again, she would spend less time fundraising and more time door-belling.

“I have such an aversion to what happened (with campaign contributions) that I certainly wouldn’t want to replicate it,” she said.

Rosewood said last year’s spending has implications for Cowlitz County elections in 2018.

“This race is an indicator of things to come,” she said. “There’s a lot of money that went into this race and it’s probably going to be twofold for county races. This could be a very expensive election cycle.”