Council candidates list campaign income

Two Havre City Council candidates running for the same seat are the only candidates in upcoming city elections to file any campaign finance reports, the Montana Commissioner of Political Practices website says.

Montana law requires that candidates for political office periodically file reports documenting their campaign fundraising and spending activity, unless they certify they would not raise more than $500 during their campaigns.

Most candidates in Blaine and Hill counties and the towns of Chester and Big Sandy have not filed campaign finance reports since the start of their campaigns.

The candidates said in their statements of candidacy they either would not receive or expend any funds, including personal funds, or did not expect to raise more than $500 during their campaigns.

That included the candidates in Havre’s contested Ward 4 race, Will Lorett, Sarah McKinney Griffith and Lorraine Pester.

The deadline for candidates to file reports for the Aug. 27 to Sept. 27 fundraising period was Oct. 2.

The campaign of Havre City Council Ward 3 candidate Lindsey Ratliff raised $50 during the most-recent fundraising period. The donation was made by Ashlie Buresh of Clancy, a teacher in the Helena School system. Ratliff began the campaign fundraising period with $560 cash on hand. She spent $217 during the reported period. Her campaign now has $392 in the bank.

Ratliff spent $138 on 3-by-5 inch notebooks, $38 on a logo copyright for a yard sign, $11.58 on 300 plastic bags and $29.95 for two bags of candy to be used in the Havre Festival Days parade.

Marc Whitacre, Ratliff’s opponent in the general election, gave $784. 50 to his own campaign, which began the period with $92.74. His campaign spent $794.50 and ended with $82.74 left in the bank.

Campaign reports say Whitacre spent $628 on banners and yard signs, $156 on candy for the Havre Festival Days parade and $10 for a bank service charge.

Reports from the fundraising period that ended Aug. 26 say Ratliff’s campaign raised $175, receiving $50 from Havre teacher Darla Kaercher and $125 from Bear Paw Development Corp. Executive Director Paul Tuss.

She spent no money but received an in-kind contribution of 200 campaign logo magnets valued at $63.99, no donor listed.

Whitacre, during the same period, donated $50 to his campaign and received a $100 donation from his wife and campaign treasurer, Erica Farmer.

The campaign spent $57.26 and ended the fundraising period with $92.74 left. The report says $47.26 was spent on checks for the campaign account and $10 on the fee for a monthly checking account.

During the June 12 to Aug. 8 fundraising period, Ratliff gave her campaign $300 and received a $200 contribution from Renee Ratliff, a therapist from Havre. The campaign spent $115 on campaign brochures.

Whitacre’s campaign did not file a finance report during that quarter.