Correction: the sub title on this article was updated to correct a mistake. Verónica Carbajal is on the ballot on Saturday, not Veronica Escobar.
Yesterday, the latest campaign finance reports for the District 2 election were posted by the City Clerk’s office. The reports were due on Saturday, December 1. These are the last financial reports before the election on Saturday, December 9. Two of the candidates, Judy Gutierrez and Ben Mendoza were not required to file reports. The other two candidates, Josh Acevedo and Verónica Carbajal as well as the El Paso Progress PAC filed their reports.
Josh Acevedo reported $7,695 in campaign contributions and he reported spending $6,350.27. Acevedo reported having $2,401 in campaign funds available going into Election Day. Acevedo’s largest campaign contributions were $2,500 from the Texas Association of Realtors Political Action Committee, $2,000 from Jesus and Lorena Duarte and $1,000 from Edward Houghton. These three campaign contributions represent 71% of the campaign funds he received during this reporting period. Acevedo spent most of his campaign funds in mailers.
Verónica Carbajal reported receiving $5,015 in campaign contributions and spending $5,983.48. Carbajal reported having $2,590.62 going into the election. Carbajal’s largest campaign contributors were Kitty Spalding for $1,000, José Rodriguez and his wife, Carmen for $750 and Sameena Karmally for $500. These contributions represent 45% of her political contributions.
In addition to the contributions above, Carbajal reported an “in-kind” contribution of $1,000 from the Justicia Fronteriza PAC, a PAC Carbajal co-founded in 2021. Until recently Carbajal was the president of the PAC. According to Carbajal’s campaign finance report, the PAC pledged $1,000 for “printing costs to be paid directly to vendor.”
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The third campaign report is the report from the El Paso Progress Specific-Purpose Committee (SPAC). El Paso Progress reported that it has spent political funds in support of Judy Gutierrez, a candidate for the District 2 seat. According to the SPAC’s report, it owes $2,747.48 in campaign expenses, the largest of which is for printing costs. The SPAC reported receiving one campaign contribution for $150 from Gil Kimmelman.
As of this morning, 918 ballots have been cast during early voting. Today is the last day to cast a ballot during early voting. Election Day is Saturday.
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