Cash didn't mean much in county commissioner primary

Spending and winning, primary-style

A breakdown of how commissioner candidates faired financially and electorally

Candidate                         Party                      Spent                                     Votes

Linda Massey                    Democrat              Less than $3,000                   12,385

Eddie Boswell                   Democrat              $2,043.18                                10,246

Glenda Bowman              Democrat              Less than $3,000                   8,836

Tristan Patterson              Democrat              Less than $3,000                   6,922

Dan Ingle                           Republican            $1,904                                     4,604

Bill Lashley                        Republican            $3,280.43                                3,937

Tom Manning                   Republican            Less than $3,000                   3,183

Lee Isley                             Republican            $1,599.78                                2,316

Larry Lee                           Republican            $9,526.74                                2,119

Hayes Teague                   Republican            Less than $3,000                   2,079

Patricia Pickell                 Republican            Less than $3,000                       966

Rebecca Stumpfig            Republican            Less than $3,000                       929     

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The person who coined the phrase "money isn't everything" must have been thinking about the Alamance County commissioners' race, where name recognition seems to be king.

Otherwise, if dollars equaled votes, Larry Lee would have won big in the May 6 primary and advanced to the Nov. 4 general election in the race for three seats on the Alamance County Board of Commissioners.

Between Jan. 1 and April 19, the Burlington businessman and Republican candidate raised $10,000 and spent more than $9,500. More than $9,300 of that went toward advertising.

Yet, despite raising and spending significantly more than any commissioner candidate, Lee finished fifth out of eight GOP hopefuls, two out of the money, as it were.

Lee's financial advantage wasn't slight. Through April 19, he raised nearly $4,500 more than Commissioner Vice-Chairman Dan Ingle, more than $4,700 more than three-term Commissioner Bill Lashley and at least $7,000 more than challenger Tom Manning.

Ingle, Lashley and Manning finished one-two-three in the GOP primary.

Lashley was the only candidate aside from Lee to spend at least $3,000.

In Manning's case, the dollar difference between he and Lee is probably greater than $7,000. Manning, a banker and current chairman of the Alamance-Burlington Board of Education, didn't have to file a first-quarter finance report after signing an agreement at the county board of elections to not raise nor spend more than $3,000.

Name recognition and experience explain the GOP results, said Robert Simpson, the chairman of the county Republican Party.

"The other five candidates were up against veteran campaigners. They know how to campaign," Simpson said. "In politics, name ID is the main thing."

In the Democratic primary, financial muscle meant even less. With a smaller primary field and a heavy turnout for the Democratic presidential primary, the top three finishers each received at least 4,000 more votes than Ingle, the top Republican finisher, and managed it without spending $3,000.

Former Haw River Mayor and Councilwoman Linda Massey, and Faucette township retiree Joyce Glenda Bowman finished first and third despite signing the $3,000 pledge.

Eddie Boswell a Burlington developer, finished second in the Democratic primary and in the overall vote tally despite raising only $1,579 and spending just shy of $2,050 (he already had nearly $630 on hand). Boswell didn't sign the pledge.

Simpson, the Republican chairman, thinks more than political experience is at play in Massey's big win. "I think she got the feminist vote," he said.

Hunt Johnson, who heads the county's Democratic Party, scoffed at Simpson's reasoning. "That's just more ranting," he said. "The Republicans are covering up the fact they haven't exhibited the leadership that people want."

Voters chose Massey because "she served very capably as the mayor of Haw River," Johnson said.
"People recognize her as a competent leader. People are ready for a change."

When it comes to Bowman's showing, Simpson and Johnson agreed that her last name, which is generally well-known and well-regarded in local political circles, probably helped her.

Her work as a volunteer firefighter and "honest ... forthright" approach during the primary campaign helped as well, Johnson added.