Sounds like a VH-1 special doesn’t it?
Booming announcer voice:
“They hope to lead Starkville for the next four years. Their differences are as great as their personalities. Next on ‘Behind the Numbers,’ Camp, Cox, Henderson and Wiseman.” (With all apologies to Anderson, Bruford, Wakeman and Howe.)
Dan Camp campaign financial report (PDF, 2.3 megs)
Matt Cox campaign financial report (PDF, 1.8 megs)
Marnita Henderson campaign financial report (PDF, .83 megs)
Parker Wiseman campaign financial report (PDF, 2.8 megs)
Should we be worried?
Only 16% of Parker Wiseman’s contributions are from Starkville residents.
Only 40% of Dan Camp’s contributions are from Starkville sources.
One hundred percent of Matt Cox’s contributions are from Starkville. I recognize that Matt’s strategy was to raise money locally. But only 16%? I don’t think that was the message that Parker intended to send to the voters of Starkville.
The only amounts reported are contributions over $200.00, so truth be told we really dont know where the money came from.
I find it interesting you single out Parker’s contribution, instead of Mayor Camp’s. Is Matt a little worried?
Parker also outraised Matt by close to $14,000.
Interesting that Dan took money from one of the Cotton Mills developers (Brooks Holstein)…I’m sure there’s nothing fishy but it doesn’t look good.
Admin – like the Yes reference, you’re showing your age.
But I ain’t as old as Matt Cox! (or as young as Parker…..)
In my neighborhood today, I met Lady Cox and Matt’s mother who were campaigning door-to-door. I commented about the financial contributions of the candidates and how impressed I was that Matt Cox’s contributions were from Starkville residents only; I was told that Matt actually refused contributions from out-of-town people!!! Wow – a politician with ethics!!! Matt also refused a contribution by the cotton mills developer. Interesting – if you haven’t taken a look at Matt Cox, now is the time!
I really wish that Matt Cox would stop trying to mislead the people about his campaign contributions. If Matt truely wants to be honest about his contributions, he should release all of his contributions under $200 that aren’t required by law to release. Also, Matt is most likely lying about returning contributions. There is no way of tracking if he returned money.
Maybe Matt didn’t take money from other places in the state of Mississipi because he is from Virginia and really doesn’t know people who have an interest in Starkville. Both Dan Camp and Parker Wiseman know people all over the state who wants Starkville to succeed. They are one of us rather than an outsider like Matt Cox.
Matt should actually talk about the issues in this race rather than trying to slander both Dan and Parker over campaign contributions. We all know there is no substance with Matt. He talks a good talk, but that is about it. At the forum on Monday, Matt talked about finally fixing a sewer problem in Ward one. The truth is Matt was the main reason this project didn’t go through. He stood in the way of fixing the problem.
I don’t know if I am voting for Dan or Parker yet. Parker impressed me at the forum this week, but I have know Dan for a long time and know he can get things done. I do like the fact that Parker Wiseman is about getting things done and stood up to Matt Cox at the forum this past week when Matt again tried to mislead the public.
On Tuesday, don’t vote for Matt Cox
I’ll say this- there ARE many people with close affiliations to MSU who live elsewhere but OWN PROPERTY IN STARKVILLE and thus ARE TAXPAYERS. I support their right to support someone even though they cannot vote.
I am not knocking Cox- I actually like him. I just see NO PROBLEM accepting monies from non-resident property owners or family and friends who do not live here.
As long as the monies are reported appropriately so we all know who is supporting who, I have no problem with candidates accepting out of town donations.
I agree with the above poster who stated there is nothing inherently wrong with out-of-town contributions. We live in another state, but we own property in Starkville, and visit it often. We have a vested interest in what happens in Starkville, but cannot vote. Explain to me how my making a contribution in a mayoral election is a bad thing.
Matt Cox has been my Alderman and each time I contacted him, I had positive communication and results. Regarding this campaign, I thought it was interesting in the vast differences of residents/non-residents who donated to our mayoral candidates.
I did chuckle about Matt’s wife and mother being called liars in one of the posts. Talking about someone’s mamma is fightin’ words!
I’ll take the campaign donation talk a step further. Why does the out-of-state person need to own land in Starkville for it to be acceptable to take donations from them?
I’ll use myself as an example. I’m a 28 year old dual-degree holder from Mississippi State. I currently live 1,000 miles away from Starkville because my pursuit of gainful employment has taken me that far away. It’s been almost 4 years since I moved away. However, I make it back, at a substantial cost, to as many football games, Super Bulldog Weekends, etc. as I can. My brother is a student at MSU and we’ve managed to get my parents to attend games and adopt the Dawgs despite the fact they group far, far away and neither went to school there.
Further, I’d drive home and pack my things right now to move back if the right opportunity presented itself. And I hope said opportunity arises sooner rather than later.
The point is this. Despite not being a resident, I love Starkville as much as anyone. I long to call it my home again and truly care what happens there. I take offense to the notion the candidate of my choice should refuse my money solely based on my residential zip code.
MIADawg – good case. Yet, I believe that the majority of funds raised should be from the zip code he/she represents. Not just for local races, but for state and federal elections as well. It’s a philosophical decision and I am glad that we can discuss these differences in an open forum.
Good point, MIADawg. Outside contributions aren’t inherently bad but I agree the bulk of the money should come from within the area being contested. If you can’t raise money within the boundaries of your political jurisdiction it says something about how much or how little stroke you have in that area. If you can’t run with the big dawgs how are you going to lead them? Without the support of at least some of the money and power brokers in a community you will not change much. Even Mr. Community Organizer got some BIG, BIG money folks behind him when running for president.
That said, I still think it looks a bit funky to take money from a developer who’s got a 100 million plus stake in your community when you are making decisions on what tx breaks to give him.