Breaking Down the County Commission Finance Reports

Last Monday, candidates running in this Tuesday’s primary submitted their first campaign finance reports of the cycle. The Orange County Board of Elections posted these reports last week, and if you’re interested in looking through them, they’re available here. If you don’t have that kind of time, then here’s some relevant information you might find useful to know, sorted by district and candidate.

District 1

Mark Dorosin
Raised: $10,364.15
Total Aggregate Contributions: 77
Total Donors Reported: 45
Cash on Hand: $5,650.08

Dorosin is the clear fundraising frontrunner in this race. His high number of small contributions speaks to the grassroots character of his campaign. Worth noting, however, are his largest donors: David Bishop, a New York lawyer, and Stephen Hershaft, CEO of Innovcorp, who also lives in New York. Each contributed $1,000.00 to Dorosin.

Pam Hemminger
Raised: $4,570.91
Total Aggregate Contributions: 40
Total Donors Reported: 3
Cash on Hand: $2,654.03

An important note to make about Hemminger’s finances is that she is her own single largest donor, accounting for over half of the money she’s raised: $2,834.29.

Penny Rich
Raised: $4,033.86
Total Aggregate Contributions: 23
Total Donors Reported: 21
Cash on Hand: $2,200.01

Rich has raised the smallest sum in the District 1 race, but has a variety of donors. Her largest donor is a New York resident named Joan Fitzpatrick, who is reported as retired. Fitzpatrick gave Rich $500.00. The next largest donation for Rich came from UNC professor Marcie Ferris at $350.00. EDIT: Thanks to OP reader Terri Buckner for pointing out that Rich has an additional $500.00 donor in Michael Brader-Araje, a Chapel Hill resident who owns Sunpocket, Inc.

District 2

Renee Price
Raised: $5,969.00
Total Aggregate Contributions: 30
Total Donors Reported: 33
Cash on Hand: $2,894.58

Price has a wide range of donors, none of whom gave her more than $300.00.

Steve Yuhasz
Raised: $4,425.00
Total Aggregate Contributions: 1
Total Donors Reported: 20
Cash on Hand: $3,483.83

Yuhasz has perhaps the most notable finance report, as one-third of his money – $1,500.00 – came from the NC Realtors PAC, a Greensboro-based statewide PAC that last surfaced in Orange County in 2011 when it donated to Jon DeHart’s town council campaign. Also noteworthy is Yuhasz’s lone small-dollar donor, the complete opposite of Dorosin’s grassroots campaign. His largest donor is Hillsborough resident and Caddy Shack Golf owner Dorothy Bane, who contributed $500.00.