Dacey and Young spend the rest of the combined county council field | Election coverage

County Councilman Phil Dacey, R, and Democratic candidate Brad Young, who is the Frederick County School Board chairman, spent $110,000 between July 4 and October 23.

The other candidates for the seven county council seats spent a total of $107,000 during the same period.

Dacey and Young are two of four candidates vying for the two council seats. Renee Knapp, Democrat and advocate and caregiver for her adult son with autism, and Republican Tony Chmelik, general contractor and former board member, are also running.

The most recent campaign filings covered candidates’ transactions between August 24 and October 23. These were the second returns the candidates have filed since the July 19 primary election.

Dacey, who spent $66,000 between July 4 and October 23, spent most of his spending on campaign mailings.

Young also focused the $44,000 he spent during this period on campaign advertising, including large sums of money for billboards/outdoor advertising and campaign mailings.

Since July, Dacey and Young have also raised the most money among the 14 board nominees.

From July 4 to October 23, Dacey had received $31,000 and Young $25,000.

Only one other candidate, John Distel, the Republican candidate for the District 1 seat, raised more than $20,000 between July 4 and October 23. District 1 covers the southwestern part of the county including Middletown, Burkittsville, Rosemont, Brunswick and land west of Md. 355 including parts of Urbana and the Sugarloaf Mountain area.

Distel, a Montgomery County police sergeant, has raised $25,000 since the primary election, more than 90% of which he received during the eight-and-a-half-week period covered by the latest fundraising deposits from country.

Distel, who was in the middle of the pack in terms of campaign fundraising until the State Board of Elections released the latest filings, raised more than any other board candidate between Aug. 24 and Oct. 23.

It raised $23,000 over eight and a half weeks, having brought in $13,000 between January 2021 and August 23, 2022 – a 20 month period.

Below are the campaign finance figures between primary election day and October 23 for the 14 county council candidates:

At-large (voters elect two candidates)

• Tony Chmelik (R) raised $14,000, spent $5,400, $10,000 left
• Councilman Phil Dacey (R) raised $30,000, spent $66,000, $45,000 left
• Renee Knapp (D) raised $9,300, spent $14,000, $2,200 left
• Brad Young (D) raised $25,000, spent $44,000, has $9,700 left

• John Distel (R) raised $25,000, spent $6,700, $21,000 left
• Councilman Jerry Donald (D) raised $9,800, spent $22,000, $11,000 left

• Councilman Steve McKay (R) raised $8,100, spent $15,000, $1,200 left
• Lisa Jarosinski (D) raised $16,000, spent $9,200, $7,900 left

• Shelley Aloi (R) raised $4,900, spent $2,700, $2,800 left
• Council Chairman MC Keegan-Ayer (D) raised $7,700, spent $9,200, $15,000 left

• John Fer (R) did not file a campaign finance report by the October 28 deadline. On Wednesday, Fer had not filed a report.

So far, the State Board of Elections has fined Iron$100 for failing to file a report for the latest campaign finance period.

In an interview with the News-Post on Wednesday, Fer said he expects his campaign treasurer, Daniel Smatlak, to submit his final financial report to the National Board of Elections by the close of business Friday.

The State Board of Elections fines candidates $20 for each of the first seven days their return is late and $35 for each of the next seven days. After that, the fee climbs to $50 per day until a candidate’s outstanding balance reaches the maximum amount of $1,000.

A candidate who wins an election cannot take office if they have an overdue financial return or late fee, according to Maryland’s campaign finance law.

• Kavonte Duckett (D) raised $10,000, spent $10,000, $8,500 left

• Mason Carter (R) raised $14,000, spent $8,000, $12,000 left
• Julianna Lufkin (D) raised $9,600, spent $3,500, $9,300 left