House District 45 race draws candidates, money

House District 45
race draws candidates, money

A campaign to unseat an incumbent Norman lawmaker is drawing both candidates and money, documents filed with the state Ethics Commission show.

With less than two weeks remaining before candidates can officially file for office, the House District 45 race had already drawn three Republican candidates -- David Hopper, Aaron Stiles and Ron Henderson, who announced for the seat earlier this week. A fourth GOP candidate, Les White, also is expected to announce candidacy for the office.

The winner of the primary election will face incumbent Democrat Wallace Collins this fall.

Those candidates, Ethics Commission documents show, have raised a total of $42,140 for their various races.

So far, Collins leads the group in generating money.

According to Collins' campaign contributions and expenditures report, Collins raised $10,364 this quarter for this re-election bid.

Collins reported carryover funds -- from either a previous report or previous campaign -- of $14,329. He reported $8,464 in personal contributions for the quarter and $1,900 in contributions from political action committees during the same period.

Collins also reported spending $1,725 for the quarter.

Those contributions bring Collins' total to $26,762 -- $18,884 in personal contributions, $6,450 in contributions from political action committees and $1,428 in other receipts.

Total expenditures for Collins' campaign stand at $9,264. Collins listed $23,031 in remaining funds.

Collins said he was pleased by the results.

"Fundraising is always one of those tasks you have to do," he said. "I don't necessarily enjoy it, and I think you always wish you were doing better, but, at the same time, I feel comfortable with where I am."

Collins said he expected contributions to increase after the legislative session.

"I feel like some people are holding off until after the session is over," he said. "Right now I haven't been real focused on fundraising, I've been spending time on the bills and issues which are a passion for me. But starting next Saturday, I'm sure I'll be devoting more time to it."

Collins' contributors included former Gov. David Walters, $100; former House member Danny Hilliard, $250; the Chickasaw Nation, $1,000; former state Senate Pro Tempore Cal Hobson -- $100; and Democratic Party activist Betty McElderry, $300.

Republican David Hopper reported a total of $8,645 raised for his campaign. That figure, Hopper's report said, was from personal contributions made to his campaign from Jan. 1 through March 31 of this year.

Hopper listed $743 in expenditures and $7,910 in remaining funds.

Hopper said he felt comfortable with where his fundraising was.

"I feel like I'm doing fairly well," he said. "I haven't reached my target yet, but I've raised enough money to do what I want to do so far."

Hopper, a former Norman city councilman, said he hasn't had to aggressively raise money for several years and that raising funds for a legislative race involved a different strategy.

"The last time I ran for council I was unopposed," he said. "So it's been about four years since I've really had to raise money for a race. But, like I said, I feel comfortable with where we're at."

Those giving to Hopper's campaign include Thomas Sherman, a banker, $250; G and G Development of Norman, $588; Harold Heiple, a Norman attorney, $500; and developer James Adair, of Adair and Associates, $1,000.

The Stiles campaign reported a total of $4,145 raised during the first quarter of the year.

Stiles also reported carryover funds -- from last fall's report -- of $1,248, personal contributions of $1,845 and $2,300 in loans during the Jan. 1-March 31 reporting period.

Total funds for Stiles were listed at $6,733, including $88 in in-kind contributions.

Stiles reporting spending $575 during the first quarter of 2008 and total expenditures of $1,827. He listed $4,817 in remaining funds.

Stiles' contributors include Republican activist Charlie Meadows, $50; state Senate candidate Steve Russell, $250; Norman physician Karl Langkamp, $150; retired military officer Don Link, $100; and Norman resident Joanne Klusmeyer, $150.

Stiles said his contributions have come from "the voters in the district."

"I think I've got a good message and people are responding to it well," he said. "I've never been a candidate for office before, and I don't have the political background that some of my opponents do."