MIDDLEBURY — Some of the candidates in the county’s four contested House districts raised in excess of $9,000 in an effort to get elected this past Nov. 4, according to campaign finance records available online through the Vermont Secretary of State.
Those records, covering campaign expenditures through Nov. 1, show the latest fund-raising totals for the candidates — including the size and origin of the contributions in excess of $100, as well as how many donations they received of less than $100.
Two local House seats — Addison-2, where Rep. Willem Jewett was re-elected, and Addison-Rutland, where Alyson Eastman won the open seat unopposed — and both of the county’s seats in the state Senate were uncontested and therefore did not generate a lot of campaign spending.
But folks campaigning in the contested House districts of Addison-1, Addison-3, Addison-4 and Addison-5 clearly burned through a lot of shoe leather and cash, according to finance records.
“The price did go up this year, considerably,” Rep. Betty Nuovo, D-Middlebury, said of campaign fundraising in 2014.
Addison-1
Nuovo, the county’s most veteran lawmaker with more than 27 years of service in the House, won another two years representing Middlebury. Records show she had raised a total of $5,440 through Nov. 1, of which she had spent $5,380.
Her contributions of more than $100 totaled $4,250, with the bulk of that ($3,500) coming from her husband and campaign manager, Victor Nuovo. Other contributors to her campaign included her fellow Addison-1 Rep. Paul Ralston, D-Middlebury, who gave $500, and a $250 contribution from the Addison County Democratic Party.
Democrat Amy Sheldon was the top vote-getter among the four Addison-1 candidates, allowing her to succeed Ralston. She raised $6,925, of which she had spent $6,233.
Some of Sheldon’s largest donations came from Andrea and John Ogden of Landgrove, Vt. ($2,000); Warren King of Ripton ($750); David Littlefield of Middlebury ($500); the Addison County Democratic Committee ($250); and Ellen Oxfeld of Middlebury ($200).
First-time independent candidate Calvin McEathron had raised a combined total of $6,350 as of Nov. 2, of which he had spent $5,943. The Middlebury College student reported that $5,200 of his donations had come in increments of $100 or more, coming from such sources as Vision to Action Vermont of Stowe ($250); Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, R-Stowe ($500); and Bill Wyman of Hanover, N.H. ($500). Vision to Action Vermont, known as V2AVT, is an organization founded by Scheuermann and Ralston to support candidates.  McEathron finished a very respectable third in the four-person race.
Independent candidate Tom Hughes, who finished a distant fourth, did not actively campaign nor solicit funds throughout the election.
Addison-3
Rep. Warren Van Wyck, R-Ferrisburgh, was the top fundraiser and spender in the four-way race for the two seats representing Addison-3, the district that includes Vergennes, Ferrisburgh, Panton, Waltham and Addison.
Van Wyck was appointed to the seat in January 2012, following the death of Rep. Greg Clark. Van Wyck finished in second place on Nov. 4, behind fellow incumbent Addison-3 Rep. Diane Lanpher, D-Vergennes.
Van Wyck raised $7,085 and spent $7,705, according to campaign finance records. Supporters gave him a combined total of $5,850 in donations of more than $100, including $2,000 from Dock Doctors LLC of Ferrisburgh; and $1,000 from Carol Breuer of Winchester, Mass.
Lanpher raised $6,145, of which she had spent $2,833. Her contributions of more than $100 came from such sources as $500 from immediate family; $880 from the Vermont Democratic House Campaign; $500 from Climate Solutions of Montpelier; $350 from the Vermont NEA Fund for Children and Education; $150 from Rep. Paul Ralston of Middlebury; $150 from the Railway Association of Vermont; $200 from PAC for a Better Vermont; and $750 from the Addison County Democratic Committee.
First-time Republican candidate Peter Briggs of Addison showed contributions of $3,871 and expenditures of $4,551 in his campaign, which culminated in a third-place finish. Records show that the vast majority of Briggs’ campaign was financed by himself and immediate family. He also received contributions of $500 from Dock Doctors LLC and $500 from Lawes AG of Brandon.
Addison Democrat John Spencer had raised $6,285 and spent $6,385 as of Nov. 3, according to his campaign finance records. He reported that $4,380 of his war chest was derived from contributions of more than $100, including $880 from the Vermont Democratic Party, and $350 from the Vermont NEA.
Addison-4
Bristol Republican Fred Baser as of Nov. 1 had raised $8,902 and spent $7,235 in his successful quest for one of the two seats representing Bristol, Monkton, Starksboro and Lincoln. Baser was the top vote-getter in the race, and will be joined in Montpelier this January by long-time Rep. David Sharpe, D-Bristol, who placed second.
Around $6,800 of Baser’s contributions came in increments of $100 or more, according to campaign finance records. Those larger contributions included a combined total of $1,750 from Rep. Heidi Scheuermann, R-Stowe; $250 from former Rep. Mark Young, R-Orwell; $207 from Bristol Selectman and former Addison-4 candidate John “Peeker” Heffernan;  and $1,000 from Joseph Devall of Bristol.
Meanwhile, Sharpe raised $9,110, of which he had spent $7,179 as of Nov. 1, according to finance reports. He reported $5,202 in contributions of more than $100, including $1,102 from the Vermont Democratic House Committee; $400 from Vermont Realtor PAC; $1,050 from the Addison County Democratic Committee; $200 from the Gun Sense VT Victory Fund; $150 from KSE Partners LLP of Montpelier; and $200 from Vermont Renewable Energy of Montpelier.
Longtime Rep. Mike Fisher, D-Lincoln, finished third and out of the running in this year’s election. He had raised $8,192 and spent $6,987 as of Nov. 1. His contributions of more than $100 totaled $4,350, including $1,050 from the Addison County Democratic Committee; $150 from Caremark RX Inc. of Lincoln, R.I.; $500 from the Vermont NEA; $150 from KSE Partners of Montpelier; $200 from Vermonters for Chiropractic PAC of Essex Junction; and $200 from Gun Sense VT.
Monkton Republican Valerie Mullin finished fourth in the race, but topped the field in fundraising. She reported contributions totaling $12,200, of which she had spent $9,304 as of Nov. 1. Mullin reported $5,134 in loans to her campaign. Her contributions in excess of $100 totaled $11,650, including $2,000 each from Rodolphe Vallee and Denise Vallee of Shelburne, and R.L. Vallee of St. Albans; $2,000 from Carol Breuer of Stowe; and $200 from Censor Security Inc. of Rutland.
Addison-5
Incumbent Rep. Harvey Smith, R-New Haven, raised $2,880 and spent $3,107 in his successful re-election bid for the Addison-5 seat representing New Haven, Bridport and Weybridge. His donations of more than $100 amounted to $2,400, including $350 from Mountain View Equipment of Middlebury; $500 from Bourdeau & Bushey of Middlebury; $350 from the Campaign Research Center of Montpelier; $200 from the Vermont Ski Areas Association; and $1,000 from Carol Breuer of Winchester, Mass.
Democratic challenger Susan Smiley of New Haven reported raising $4,884, of which she had spent $2,735 as of Nov. 1. She received a total of $1,293 in donations of more than $100, with the largest being an in-kind contribution of $600 by Christine Snell for a campaign function in New Haven. She also received financial support amounting to almost $700 from state and local Democrat committees.
Other campaigns
Sen. Ayer, the Senate Assistant Majority Leader, raised $2,150.50 for the campaign, with all but 50 cents coming in contributions over $100. She spent $3,237.
Sen. Bray’s report was not available on the Secretary of State’s website, but he told the Independent that he raised $2,200 in this election cycle and spent $69.95.
Rep. Jewett’s report was not available on the Secretary of State’s website, but other reports showed that Jewett received $200 from Vermont Credit Union PAC and $200 from Gun Sense Vermont.
The report for Alyson Eastman was not available on the Secretary of State’s website.
Reporter John Flowers is at [email protected].