Making Sense of the Numbers

By Dan Frazier Updated May 7, 2004.

See also Jan. 31, 2005 update and summary.

My study of the campaign finance reports filed by Citizens for Sensible Government, Rick Krug and Eldon Kramer confirmed several of my suspicions. For one thing, many of the same people who support Citizens for Sensible Government also support Rick Krug and Eldon Kramer. There is considerable overlap between the organization and the two candidates. In fact, nearly half of the money received by Kramer and 37 percent of the money received by Krug came from donors who also donated to Citizens for Sensible Government. CSG is the organization that funded the controversial push poll. CSG has also sent out several mailings containing false and misleading information. Though Kramer and Krug have both tried to distance themselves from CSG, these efforts are more than a little hard to swallow given the donor-overlap between CSG and the candidates’ campaigns. Neither candidate has returned the monies they received from CSG donors.

It is also obvious that the Nackards have played a huge role in this campaign. Like the Babbitts, the Nackard family goes way back in Flagstaff’s history. Unfortunately, their reputation does not measure up to that of the Babbitts, especially in the wake of the mysterious chainsaw massacre of 300 trees on property owned by George Nackard, president of Consolidated Investments. Nearly a third of CSG’s funds have come directly from various members of the Nackard clan, with more money coming from friends, neighbors and Nackard employees. Meanwhile, 23 percent of donations to the Krug campaign have also come from the Nackards, and about 20 percent of Kramer’s funding has come from the Nackards.

But the most dramatic thing that jumps out at you when you study the finance reports is how heavily CSG and its two chosen candidates are backed by development interests. About 56 percent of CSG’s funding comes from developers, realtors, contractors, excavators, and others in the construction trades. Rick Krug has gotten a third of his funding from those in the development and building business. Eldon Kramer has received 25 percent of his funds from these interests.

Attorney’s have also contributed heaps of cash to two of these campaigns. Oddly, Rick Krug appears not to have benefited much from this lawyerly largesse. As the owner of a janitorial services company, and a former pastor, he may well travel in different circles. About 16 percent of CSG’s funding comes from attorneys, with much of it coming from at least half a dozen attorneys at the law firm of Aspey Watkins and Diesel. You’ll see a similar situation  with the Eldon Kramer for City Council campaign finance reports. Why are so many attorneys so eager to steer the course of Flagstaff's future toward more development? It could be that these days the only people who can afford attorneys are property owners, so we definitely need to develop more property and get more rich folks to come here and buy it, so that attorneys can continue to get paid a living wage. 

Of course, the figures above and on the finance table are not precise. In a surprising number of cases, donors did not list their occupation or employer. Both are required by campaign law, though enforcement seems to be a little lax. In many cases, donors said only that they were self-employed, or that they were a business owner. They might be realtors, attorneys, barbers, or musicians, but you’ll never figure it out just by looking at the reports that have been filed.

Actually, the chances of them being musicians or barbers seem pretty slim given the occupations of the others who did disclose. There are not a lot of working class folks in the list, and even fewer creative types. 

Though the table posted on this Web site does not include address information for donors, this information is available on the reports. It would be interesting to plot the residences of donors on a map. My guess is that most would congregate in the well-to-do Country Club area. I noticed that at least five donors live on Wakonda St. on the eastern edge of the Country Club neighborhood, all at different addresses. And there could be more because some donors gave P.O. Box addresses or business addresses. Is there a development project, or land-use regulation that could affect property values on Wakonda? Will property values soar if the right candidates are elected? I don’t know the answer.

I also noticed a lack of diversity among the donors. Out of 56 donors to the three campaigns, only two appear to be hispanic. One name is Rick Lopez, the mayoral candidate who has apparently donated $100 to the Eldon Kramer campaign. The other is Sherrie Padilla, the manager at Varsity Gasser -- a business owned by George Nackard. She supposedly gave $1,000 to CSG. There are also few female names on the list. About 85 percent of contributors to Citizens for Sensible Government appear to be male. Maybe this is why CSG seems so determined to oust our only two female Council members. Meanwhile, 77 percent of donors to the Kramer campaign appear to be male. Only Krug has managed to attract a respectable female following with 37 percent of his donors appearing to be female. What a stud! (My info on male dominance of the campaign was later found to be incorrect. See update.)

Most of these donors are rich by Flagstaff standards. They don’t give small donations to the candidates they like. Often, they give the maximum allowed by law. To give $350 here, $1,000 there – that’s nothing to many of these people. Many of Flagstaff’s residents may live at or below the poverty line, but most of the people who expect to have their way in this town do not. Most of these donors don’t represent average Flagstaff residents. They represent money, power and greed. 

Ideally, I would be able to post detailed information about all the of the candidates’ campaign finance reports. However, my time is limited and I have chosen to focus the spotlight where I believe a little more light is needed most. I might get around to posting more information about the finances of the other candidates. However, I would not hold my breath if I were you. Fortunately, campaign finance reports are public records. Anyone can go down to City Hall and get copies for a reasonable photocopying fee. Also, the Daily Sun published a list of major donors to all candidates on April 11, and there is a chance that they will publish another list before election day.

See the campaign finance chart discussed above.