Fundraising Update

So, here is the latest on the Mayor's race and the District 5 fundraising. Two things that really caught my eye:

1. Phil Austin has been able to raise quite a bit of money since the election. It sure sounds like people were taken by surprise when he came in so far behind Higgins. In some ways, I am surprised that more people didn't also donate to Higgins. I wonder if he is going to be able to turn that added cash into additional votes. It seems like Higgins has been able to find ways to work harder instead of smarter. She has these new big signs that I have seen all around, that are smaller than the big ones, but are still pretty easy to read. I wonder how much money she has saved doing that.

2. I am surprised to hear that Griswold has found a way to pay himself back in the midst of a heated run off race. How is he paying for all the stuff that he needs to do while paying himself back $17,000? Is this an indicator that he is not going to put his full effort into this? If he is so confident in his ability to win, wouldn't he keep the loan in the campaign and assume that he could raise more money after he won? Is he trying to set up some sort of dynamic where he hasn't loaned himself money, but Smith has?