Commissioner candidate outpaces Hannold in funding

Candidate for Island County district three commissioner Janet St. Clair has raised approximately $40,000 more than her opponent, incumbent Rick Hannold, according to Public Disclosure Commission numbers.

St. Clair has raised a total of $51,994 and spent over $11,700 in the race so far. She said she’s held “many” fundraising events at either large community center venues or small house parties.

“The majority has been through meeting people face-to-face and hearing what their concerns are,” she said.

Hannold has raised a total of $9,161 and spent just over $4,520. He will end his first four-year term this November.

“It’s difficult to campaign and do your job at the same time,” Hannold said.

Hannold said he chooses to focus his time and energy on the job rather than holding events to raise money, he said.

Because it’s still early, he said he’s not “considerably” concerned about the funding discrepancy.

“The voters will make the decision in November,” he said.

St. Clair said she is particularly happy with how many smaller contributions she’s received. More than 120 of her contributions were under $50 and 387 of the total 465 were under $200.

“This is really about feeling that grassroots support,” St. Clair said.

Twenty five of Hannold’s 89 contributions were for under $50 and 74 were under $200. He said he doesn’t currently have plans for “anything special” when it comes to fundraising events.

Hannold said he thinks his work speaks for itself.

“I’ve done a lot for Camano in the last four years,” he said.

The majority of Hannold’s campaign-related expenditures have been for signs. St. Clair’s spending has been more extensive and varied. Since filing for candidacy in October, she’s spent hundreds on catering, event space rental and professional photography. She also spent over $500 on candidate training through Emerge Washington, which aims to help place Democratic women in public office.

“I was looking forward to being around other women and sharing that camaraderie,” she said.

Her goal throughout is to build an “inclusive campaign that is responsive to people.”

Hannold said he thinks the outcome is mostly out of his hands. He’ll continue to do some smaller and events and meet with groups, but at the end of the day “we’re just waiting to see what voters say. It’s about all you can do”