storyhill.net, Nov. 6, 2006

Sullivan surges in campaign donations
Reynolds overstates contribution totals by 47%

Sullivan's fund-raising advantage surges to better than a 2-to-1 ratio when Reynolds' in-kind contributions to his campaign are not counted.

Reynolds' latest finance report overstates the year's contributions to his campaign by 47%, records show.

The Oct. 30 filing said the West Allis Republican raised a total of $144,211 from individuals through Oct. 23, but the individual contributions listed in the three reports filed this year add up to just $97,393 a $46,818 shortfall, a storyhill.net analysis shows.

Reynolds' report also said that he raised $13,595 from political committees, but the committee donations total $9,770.

Reynolds' overall donations this year totaled $107,093 according to the three filings, not the $157,806 claimed in his October filing.

Sullivan, a Wauwatosa alderman, raised a total of $175,250 this year, including $156,307 from individuals and an additional $18,943 from political committees.

Sulivan did not count his own labor as a campaign contribution, but Reynolds did. Reynolds was, in fact, the biggest contributor to his own campaign, giving in-kind donations he valued at $33,739, or 31% of the total raised by the campaign.

All other donations to Reynolds totaled $73,354, or just 42% of the amount Sullivan raised.

Reynolds appears to have even inflated the total value of his own in-kind contributions. He reported contributions of $6,106 on June 30; $10,750 on Aug. 28; and $16,883 contribution on Oct. 23. Those amounts total $33,739, but Reynolds reported donating a total of $47,995 thus far this year.