Campaign finance reports reveal donors and mystery PAC

Nearly $90,000 has been raised in the race for Avon Lake Municipal Court judge, while nearly all the fundraising in the Issue 20 campaign has come from those in support of the measure. Pre-election campaign finance reports obtained from the Lorain County Board of Elections show Geoff Smith of Avon Lake and Allison Manning of Avon have raised $86,876 collectively. Both are running to replace Judge Darrel Bilancini, who may not run again due to age limits. The jurisdiction serves Avon, Avon Lake and Sheffield. The general judicial race is nonpartisan but comes after each candidate won a partisan primary race in May, the Democratic for Smith and the Republican for Manning. The sources of their contributions largely reflect those affiliations. Manning has raised a total of $39,116 for her campaign but had spent only $6,309 as of Oct. 26, when the campaign finance report was submitted. She had 197 donors and has also received $2,980 worth of in-kind contributions with $32,806 on hand. According to his campaign finance report, Smith has collected a total of $47,760 from 138 donors and spent $25,717, leaving him with $22,043 on hand. Manning donors Manning, the daughter of state Rep. Gayle Manning, R-North Ridgeville, and sister of state Sen. Nathan Manning, R-North Ridgeville, has served as a magistrate in Elyria Municipal Court since 2010 and in North Ridgeville Mayor's Court since 2018. She has been an assistant prosecutor in Put-in-Bay Mayor's Court for over a year. Donations to the Allison Manning for Judge Campaign were: $5,000: The Lorain County Republican Party. $2,220: In-kind contributions of food, staff and facility for a fundraiser use from Willoway Nurseries in Avon. $1,300: Donna Riddell, the wife of Republican Lorain County Commissioner Jeff Riddell in two separate payments. $1,150 of that donation was refunded, according to the finance report. $650: Republican state Rep. Gayle Manning; Tomie Patton, president of the Avon-Avon Lake Republican Party; Jeff Riddell, Republican Lorain County Commissioner; Teresa Gardiner, of North Ridgeville; Deana Leitner, candidate for Avon Lake City Council. $600: Accountant James Park of Amherst. $500: Bucky Kopf, owner of Kopf Construction; Melvin Kurtz of Quasar Energy Group; Nathaniel Jonhenry, partner at Cosgrove Jonhenry LLC; Jillian McDonnell, sales employee at The Brickyard in Avon; Lorain attorney Michael Stepanik. $375: Elyria law firm Pulito and Associates. Many other donors gave $250 or less to the campaign. Smith donors Smith has previously served as Avon Lake law director, administrative legal counsel for Holly Brinda during her time as Elyria's mayor, and as an assistant law director and in human resources for the city of Lorain. Donations to the Smith for Judge Campaign included: $1,100: Avon Lake Democratic Party. $650: Richard Dregne, business owner from Elyria; Amherst business owner Paul Bires; Anthony Giardini, attorney, member of Lorain County Board of Elections, former Lorain County Democratic Party Chairman; LaGrange attorney Hector Guzman; Christine Herrick of Fort Myers, Florida; LaGrange sales executive Marty Kozarec; Henry and Loulou Rozek of Westlake; Elyria accountant Jay Tokar. $600: Bay Village attorney Thomas Robenault. $500: Tony Gorris of Lakewood; salesman Michael Hertensteiner of Wakeman; Terry Hupp of Elyria, owner of Tree Contractors; Bucky Kopf, owner of Kopf Construction; George Leonard of Avon Lake; Rich Shagovac of Avon Lake; Hillery Yontz of Rocky River; $425: Roberto Cobos of Elyria. $400: John Alexandrovic, CEO of Orbit Industries; Tim Smith of Avon. $350: Elyria attorney Zach Simonoff. $300: Friends of John Hunter, Lorain business owner David Masters. Many other donors gave $250 or less to the campaign. Election campaign finance reports, disclosing all financial activity through Oct. 18, were due Oct. 26, according to the Ohio Secretary of State's Office. Issue 20 Proponents of Issue 20, the Lorain County Appointive Executive Plan — also known as the "seven-district plan" — have outraised opponents of the plan by a factor of almost 25-to-1. The 7 Districts for Equal Representation political action committee raised $44,000. Citizens Opposed to Issue 20 raised slightly more than $1,800. If approved by voters, the issue will change the Board of Commissioners from three At-large seats to seven district seats, each represented by one commissioner. Backers say it will increase representation in Lorain County government and increase the number of people able and willing to run for public office. Opponents call it gerrymandering on a local level and say it is a Republican power grab. The pro-Issue 20 group spent $38,527 on its campaign and had $5,473 on hand as of Oct. 26, according to its campaign finance report. Contributions came from Daniel Gross of Gross Plumbing in Elyria ($9,000 total in two contributions); Commissioner Jeff Riddell ($8,000 total in two contributions); the "Moore in 2024" PAC ($6,500); Minute Men staffing, a managed care organization out of Cleveland ($5,000) and James Park, accountant and 7 Districts for Equal Representation campaign treasurer ($5,000). Developer Jon Veard of Veard Construction ($2,500 total in two contributions); Coveland Holdings LLC, an investment firm in Westlake ($2,000); Brian Hoagland, a backer of the seven district plan ($1,500); Ben Norton of Lorain ($1,000); Richard Mulder of South Shore Electric ($1,000); and Timothy Lee Pettet, a pilot from Westlake ($1,000), rounded out the donations of $1,000 or more. Donations less than $1,000 came from Associated Contractors Inc. of Oberlin ($500); Neil Lynch, Amherst Township trustee and president of The Nord Center Board of Directors ($500); former Lorain County auditor and Democrat Mark Stewart of North Olmsted ($500); William Scott Smith of Oberlin ($300); developer Robert Campana of Lorain ($250); and "Friends of Mark Costilow," the campaign of Amherst Mayor Mark Costilow ($200). The pro Issue 20 PAC spent at least $10,500 to pay Triad Research Group of Cleveland ($6,500 in August, $4,000 in June) for "research" and to design the map of the seven districts. Issue 20 was placed on the ballot by a unanimous vote of the Lorain County Board of Commissioners in July. Moore and Riddell support the plan and have said they intend to run for seats on the seven-member board if the issue passes, and both have spent significant amounts of money on the plan. Commissioner Michelle Hung voted to put the issue on the ballot but has since come out against Issue 20 and was the major donor to opponents of plan. The pro-Issue 20 PAC spent $31,000 with Superprinter of Lorain on newsletter mailings and postage, according to its campaign finance report. The campaign finance report for "7 Districts for Equal Representation" also includes a line item noting a $200 donation from The Chronicle-Telegram. That is erroneous. The Chronicle does not make donations to political campaigns in keeping with journalistic ethics. The $200 was a May 13, 2022, refund for an overpayment on an ad purchase by the committee. Campaign treasurer Jim Park said Wednesday he will file an amended report this week with that error corrected. Citizens Opposed to Issue 20, the anti-Issue 20 PAC, received $1,811 in contributions as of Oct. 26. It spent $1,503, received more than $2,156 in in-kind contributions and had just under $307 on hand as of Oct. 26. The Ohio State Coroners Association, based in Columbus, gave $500 to Citizens Opposed to Issue 20. Other donations came from Lorain County Democratic Party Chairwoman Sharon Sweda ($300); the "Families for Lundy" campaign of former commissioner Matt Lundy ($250); Harry Williamson Jr., former union official, Hung's boyfriend and the former Lorain County 911 Director ($200); North Ridgeville City Councilwoman Holly Swenk, R-1st Ward ($200); the "Friends of Snodgrass" committee ($200); Debbie Coon of Elyria ($100); PAC Treasurer Aden Fogel of Sheffield Lake, a frequent critic of both Moore and Riddell, listed $1,664 worth of yard signs and $442 in vehicle door magnets as in-kind contributions from Hung. There was also $50 worth of flyers from Ronald Spears of Avon Lake as in-kind contributions. Fogel also donated $21 cash to the anti-Issue 20 campaign, according to its campaign finance report. Mystery PAC A PAC called "Freedom Circle" also filed a campaign finance report. Park also is treasurer of that group. Donors to the PAC include commissioners Riddell ($5,000) and Moore ($1,000); Deborah Ortner of Oberlin ($1,000); Kevin Beckett, president and CEO of the R.W. Beckett Corp. in Avon ($1,000); Laura Butry of Avon Lake ($1,000); and Daniel Gross of Gross Plumbing ($1,000). The campaign finance report does not state the PAC's purpose. Moore did not respond to a reporter's question about what the PAC's purpose is on Wednesday. Riddell was cryptic about its purpose Wednesday night. "Wouldn't you like to know," he wrote in a text message to a Chronicle reporter. That was his response to questions about what the purpose of the PAC is and why he gave the PAC $5,000. Riddell ran his successful 2022 election campaign partly on a promise of better transparency on the Board of Commissioners, even changing up meeting dates and times to encourage more participation by the public. The PAC had $24,365 brought forward, received $10,000 in donations and spent $6 in bank account service charges, leaving it with $35,359 on hand. There is an unexplained $994 discrepancy in the math between the $34,365 total of past contributions and current contributions and the $35,539 reportedly on hand for Freedom Circle. Contact Owen MacMillan at (440) 329-7123 or omacmillan@chroniclet.com. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com.