CLEVELAND, Ohio – Two Republicans – a convicted and pardoned fraudster and a figure tied to the House Bill 6 bribery scandal – are betting big on Democratic former Mayor Dennis Kucinich in the race to succeed Mayor Frank Jackson.
According to unaudited financial disclosure forms filed with the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections on Thursday, James Kassouf, Tony George and their family members donated maximum contributions of $5,000 adding up to $65,000 for Kucinich from July through August. Kucinich reported more than $235,000 in contributions, more than four times what he raised in the 18 months prior.
Kucinich led the field of seven mayoral candidates, barely edging out nonprofit executive Justin Bibb, who raised more than $218,000.
Because Cleveland campaign limits run by calendar year instead of election cycle, the Georges and Kassoufs have been able to donate beyond the $5,000 limit. Both families gave Kucinich $48,000 between Dec. 22 and Dec. 31, allowing them to give another $5,000 each this year.
All told, the Georges have given Kucinich’s campaign $63,000 while the Kassoufs gave $50,000, accounting for $113,000 of the $324,000 Kucinich has raised – around 35% total.
George has been connected to the ongoing House Bill 6 scandal, in which Akron-based utility company FirstEnergy admitted to engaging in a $60 million bribery scheme to pass a ratepayer funded bailout for two formerly owned nuclear facilities. Republican former Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four others were charged with racketeering by federal authorities.
Cleveland City Council President Kevin Kelley, who is also running for mayor, is investigating whether FirstEnergy worked to undermine municipally owned Cleveland Public Power through the political group Consumers Against Deceptive Fees.
George was heavily tied to FirstEnergy following an audit released by the Public Utilities Commission of Ohio that showed the company gave George’s businesses millions of dollars for various services. George also worked on behalf of the company to try to secure rights to power aggregation for TPI Efficiency. When that failed, he launched an unsuccessful bid to cut the number of council members from 17 to 9.
TPI Efficiency Founder Roger Zona also contributed $5,000 to Kucinich’s campaign.
Kassouf is a real estate owner and parking lot operator who pleaded guilty to filing a false tax return. As part of the plea agreement, Kassouf was ordered to serve four months of home detention and pay a $10,000 fine. Republican President Donald Trump pardoned him in December.
Both George and Kassouf are heavy Republican donors and huge backers of Trump. Both held fundraisers for Trump’s presidential campaigns.
The Georges and Kassoufs have given to other candidates as well, though not nearly to the degree Kucinich has benefitted. Kassouf gave $5,000 to former Cleveland City Councilman Zack Reed this reporting period as well as $2,500 last year. George has spread money to Reed as well as Cleveland City Councilman Basheer Jones and state Sen. Sandra Williams.
A spokesman for Kucinich did not respond to requests for comment.
Late fundraising
Bibb raised the second biggest pot of money during the filing period, not including a vendor refund of $59,000.
Among Bibb’s donors is Ben Newhouse, a member of the Newhouse family that owns Advance Publications, the parent company of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Newhouse gave Bibb $1,000. Newhouse is not a member of the cleveland.com and Plain Dealer editorial board, which endorsed Bibb in the primary and is separate from news coverage.
After spending nearly $396,000, Bibb ended the reporting period with more than $90,000 cash on hand. Kucinich spent more than $226,000 and ended the period with more than $45,000.
Kelley, who has raised the most money in the race so far, pulled in more than $185,000 for the reporting period. He spent by far the most at about $641,000, ending this reporting period with more than $80,000 cash on hand.
There was a steep drop-off in fundraising after the top three, with Williams coming in fourth after pulling in more than $77,000. Williams spent nearly $135,000, ending the reporting period with around $37,000 cash on hand.
Reed reported raising nearly $70,000 and spent more than $82,000, ending the period with more than $22,000 cash on hand.
After reporting raising the most money in his July 31 filing, Jones had a steep decline relative to the other candidates. Jones raised just more than $38,000 in contributions. He reported another $10,000 in income through a vendor refund. However, after spending more than $247,000, Jones ended the reporting period with more than $103,000 cash on hand, the most of any of the candidates.
Attorney Ross DiBello reported raising around $1,800 in contributions and spent more than $2,200, ending the period with around $4,200 cash on hand.
Totals
Dennis Kucinich:
Amount from last report - $36,544.24
Amount raised - $235,411
Amount spent - $226,323.30
Cash on hand - $45,631.95
Justin Bibb:
Amount from last report - $208,265.35
Amount raised - $218,664.90 (not including $59,445 vendor refund)
Amount spent - $395,985.05
Cash on hand - $90,400.20
Kevin Kelley:
Amount from last report - $537,136.16
Amount raised - $185,415 (not including $1,823.70 in-kind contribution)
Amount spent - $641,974.24
Cash on hand - $80,756.92
Sandra Williams:
Amount from last report - $93,667.87
Amount raised - $77,732.97 (not including $27.92 vendor refund)
Amount spent - $134,808.84
Cash on hand - $36,619.92
Zack Reed:
Amount from last report - $35,710.12
Amount raised - $69,564.97
Amount spent - $82,332.95
Cash on hand - $22,402.14
Basheer Jones:
Amount from last report - $302,687.50
Amount raised - $38,145 (not including $10,000 vendor refund)
Amount spent - $247,535.40
Cash on hand - $103,297.10
Ross DiBello:
Amount from last report - $5,586
Amount raised - $1,816.69 (not including $9.65 vendor refund)
Amount spent - $2,225.99
Cash on hand - $4,186.35
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