Pepper becomes the $1 million man

Councilman David Pepper loaned his campaign committee $100,000 last week, putting him on pace to spend more than $1 million in his bid for Cincinnati mayor.

His opponent, state Sen. Mark Mallory, has raised $353,283 -- including $61,000 in personal loans to his committee. Pepper's total available to spend in the campaign, including loans, is $1,069,498.

Pepper's $100,000 loan came Oct. 17 -- the same day his campaign paid for $100,000 in television ads. A new 15-second ad attacking Mallory's record on crime made its debut Thursday.

But Pepper, already breaking all records for fund-raising by a candidate for Cincinnati office, said the loan and the television buy weren't connected. "With $120,000 worth of special interest money coming in from Columbus, I needed to give $100,000 just to keep up," Pepper said, referring to the Service Employees International Union's campaign in favor of Mallory.

Individuals can contribute up to $1,000 to city candidates. But Pepper is taking advantage of the provision that allows contributors to give another $1,000 to candidates who pass the primary. His latest campaign finance reports contain 139 contributors giving $1,000 -- many of whom already gave $1,000 before the primary.

The latest numbers come from campaign finance reports filed Thursday with the Hamilton County Board of Elections.

Candidates for City Council also filed. Their fund-raising totals in the 2005 election cycle to date:

	Candidate	Total
	Jeff Berding (D)	$248,850
	John Cranley (D)	$187,671
	Chris Bortz (C)	$182,227
	David C. Crowley (D)	$151,751
	Chris Monzel (R)	$143,319
	Leslie Ghiz (R)	$141,723
	Jim Tarbell (C)	$68,790
	Laketa Cole (D)	$68,209
	Christopher Smitherman (C)	$55,940
	Damon Lynch III (D)	$35,948
	Sam Malone (R)	$35,615
	John Eby (R)	$31,840
	Samantha Herd (D)	$25,582
	Nick Spencer (C)	$23,358
	Eve Bolton (D)	$22,081
	Cecil Thomas (D)	$20,388
	Gerry Kraus (I)	$19,952
	Wendell P. Young (D)	$4,190
	Robert Wilking (I)	$4,000
	Robert Wilson (I)	$1,821
	Bill Barron (I)	$360

Candidates for Cincinnati Board of Education:

	Candidate	Total
	Susan Cranley	$73,877
	Harriet Russell	$39,475
	Eileen Cooper Reed	$36,960
	Melanie Bates	$33,650
	William Haase	$5,255
	Catherine Ingram	$0

Those numbers include money raised for the entire 2005 campaign cycle, but do not include loans or non-cash contributions.