Doubtless I sound like a broken record (Google it, kids) when I mention that our sadly reduced political press rarely reports on campaign finance anymore, but it’s especially true in this case. While doing research on fundraising and spending in the contest for control of the Burlington City Council, I couldn’t help but notice a bunch of other fascinating things from other cities and towns. Like, there are some candidates who are spending large quantities of money for relatively small offices. And a few of ’em appear to be violating state law by failing to adequately account for their finances.

These aren’t huge numbers by any means, but they’re out of proportion to what other candidates are spending for similar offices. Soapbox moment: Any local outlet covering local races ought to look at campaign finance filings to see what their local hopefuls are raising and spending. It’s something their readers should know. It’d be more interesting than the stock previews or candidate Q&As that are long on platitude and short on insight.

It might be nice for the good people of Hinesburg, for instance, to know that Todd Portelance, candidate for select board, has spent more than $2,000 but has reported zero fundraising. If he’s self-funded his own campaign, he has failed to report that fact. And yes, he checked the box on the reporting form that says “I hereby verify, under the pains and penalties of perjury, that the information provided is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.” So he has no excuses.

I doubt that any chicanery is involved. Carelessness would be my prime suspect. But the purpose of campaign finance law is to let the public know where candidates are getting their money and what they’re spending it on. This is only possible if candidates take their responsibilities seriously.

Other items that struck me as interesting:

Shannon Drake Jackson has spent a lot of money, by town government standards, in a bid for Essex Town select board. How much? Try $8,275. That’s about $400 more than he has reported raising. Jackson is extremely well-connected in liberal slash progressive circles, and has raised nearly two-thirds of his campaign total from out-of-state sources. Why would anyone from elsewhere give a tinker’s cuss about Essex Town government? Well, they probably don’t, but they care about Mr. Jackson.

Take, for instance, liberal pollster Bill McInturff, who gave $1,030.26 to Jackson’s campaign. McInturff is the stepfather of Jackson’s wife, according to the New York Times’ (!!) announcement of Jackson’s nuptials. Jackson held key positions in Sen. Bernie Sanders’ two presidential campaigns and was also a leader in Bernie’s “Our Revolution” organization.

Other Jackson donors from elsewhere include Cooper Teboe ($1,120), a Democratic political strategist from Silicon Valley, Illinois state Senator Cristina Castro ($1,000), and Jeff Weaver ($500), who managed Bernie’s 2016 run for president. Jackson’s top donor who actually lives in Essex Town is his wife Michelle Jackson, presumably a relative (but not his wife) ($277.50). There’s absolutely nothing wrong or illegal about any of this; it’s just kind of weird for a guy to take advantage of deep-pocketed connections to run for local office. And if I were running against him, I might take a much dimmer view of it.

Moving on to the race for mayor in Rutland, which is a big-money affair by any non-Burlington standard. Incumbent Michael Doenges has raised more than $20,000 while his challenger, city Alderman Henry Heck, has raised a “mere” $8,675. Doenges has spent $13,879; his spending has accelerated in recent days, either because he sees a tough race or he has the money in his pocket. Heck’s spending is unclear; the summary page of his listing on the Vermont campaign finance website puts total expenditures at $11,285, but when you visit his “Expenditures” summary, it lists a total of $8,675. Glitch in the system? Don’t know. If the former is the right figure, then Heck has a bit of a Portelance problem.

Top donors to Doenges: Multifamily housing developer Claire Purcell of Rutland ($1,120), New Jersey realtor Jason Vail ($1,120), presumed relative David Doenges ($1,000), Rutland pharmacist Richard Abel ($1,000), and Daniel Hogenkamp of Rutland, political consultant and former staffer to Sen. Pat Leahy (an oddly specific $575.76).

Top donors to Heck: Himself ($2,550), the Avanru Development Corp. of Walpole, NH ($1,000), Jaime and Joanna McCullough of Rutland ($750 each), and Foley Enterprises of Rutland ($500).

Here’s another Heck-style glitch of whatever origin. Isaac Evans-Frantz, who ran for U.S. Senate in the Democratic primary against then-U.S. Rep. Peter Welch and lost by a nice round 80 percentage points, is now running for Brattleboro select board. He’s raised an impressive total of $4,646; his summary page has a figure of $6,723 for total expenditures, which would mean a failure to report all his sources of campaign income. But as with Heck, his itemized expenditures add up to a much lower figure — $3,537. Evans-Frantz’ top donor was his own 2022 campaign fund ($1,120). No other donor topped the $400 mark; he drew a lot of money, $2,526 in all, from small donors. Still a fair bit of cash for a select board race, no?

Another candidate with a Portelance problem, although not as severe as the man himself, is Jo Sabel Courtney of Stowe. The 2020 Democratic candidate for state representative has raised $1,655 and spent $2,629 in her bid for a select board seat. More than $2,000 of her money, whatever the source/s, has gone for ads in the local newspaper.

Finally, a few entries in the “How much should it really cost to run for local office, anyway?” category. Ralph Perkins has raised more than $4,000 to run for Colchester select board, almost all of it from himself and his family. Top three donors: Ralph Perkins ($2,596.88), Peter Perkins ($1,000), and Birdbrain Parrots ($200). Perkins is in a four-way race; none of the other three have filed financial disclosures, which suggests they have raised and spent less than $500 apiece.

There are a couple of candidates in Stowe who’ve outraised Jo Sabel Courtney. Elizabeth Ann Godbois has raised $3,410, and Courtney Percy has raised $2,410. Maybe that’s pocket change in Ski Town U.S.A., but it still seems like a lot for a select board seat. Down Bennington way, select board candidates James Sullivan ($2,475) and Jacklyn Matts ($2,303) lead the way in fundraising; Tom Haley has raised $1,665, Kelly Carroll $376, and Beau Blake Alexander a nice even $0. Finally, Ian Hefele is apparently dead serious about becoming town clerk in little ol’ Vernon; he’s raised $1,691. Worthy of note: $1,340 of his total came from outside of Vermont. I realize Vernon is a border town, close to New Hampshire and Massachusetts, but there’s something out of the ordinary about raising so much outside money to run for town clerk.

There’s nothing in any of this that screams “SCANDAL,” but a couple of takeaways suggest themselves. If there’s a glitch in the Secretary of State’s expenditure reporting system or a pitfall that some candidates are having trouble with, it should be addressed. And if there are candidates who’re raising and spending unusual amounts of money or getting it from unusual sources, that ought to be reported in the press.

Local media outlets should start paying attention to the publicly available campaign finance material gathered by the Secretary of State. For the most part they won’t find much to report, but they ought to make the effort. Campaign finance law is based on the idea that disclosure helps inform the electorate. If the media doesn’t play its role, disclosure does nobody any good.