Although the final reports on the 2004 campaigns aren't due till late January, the early evidence suggests that things haven't changed much from last year.
In this year's race for chairman of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners, the real-estate industry appears to have been by far the biggest funder, according to preliminary campaign-finance reports filed by candidates Nathan Ramsey and Ed Hay on Oct. 25. And once again, retirees apparently contributed the second-largest amount. (These are partial reports -- the full accountings aren't due until late January.)
Out of $38,940 in individually named donations reported so far for 2004, $14,800, (38 percent) came from the real-estate industry -- represented generally by the same individuals who funded the 2003 Council race. Retirees kicked in $6,225, (16 percent). And though almost 90 percent of the nearly $40,000 in total named donations went to Ramsey, the incumbent, real-estate agents and developers also contributed roughly half of Hay's $4,515 sliver of that pie.
Once again, national corporations with local interests staked a few C-notes on a hometown horse. From his Georgia headquarters, billboard magnate W.S. Morris sent Ramsey a check for $500. The Buncombe Republican also received $250 from a national PAC operated by Vulcan Materials Company (along with an additional $250 from the company's local sales manager). Vulcan, which has a plant in Enka, is the country's leading producer of crushed stone, an essential component of pavement and concrete for road building and other construction. This year alone, the Vulcan PAC has given more than $175,000 to dozens of mostly Republican candidates around the nation, according to www.campaignmoney.com, which tracks campaign contributions across the country.
-- S.R.