Bongiovanni Tops Fundraising in Gilbert Council Race With Large…

Arizona Watcher

Councilman Chuck Bongiovanni led fundraising in the Gilbert Town Council race after reporting a $30,000 personal loan in the second-quarter filing, adding $38,000 for the period and bringing total campaign receipts to $78,000 ahead of the July 21 primary.

Bongiovanni’s filing showed $6,500 from the Gilbert Firefighters PAC and realtor PACs adding to his receipts; Q2 expenditures were $11,000, $35,000 total to date, leaving about $43,300. Major vendor payments included $24,600 to Mesa Sign Shop and $3,000 to The HD Group.

Incumbent Jim Torgeson reported $37,500 in Q2 contributions, including $27,000 of his own money, and $4,860 in Q2 expenditures mainly to Mesa Sign Shop. Incumbent Bobbi Buchli reported $3,600 in Q2 ($10,280 total) and Q2 spending of $8,860, with PAC support from Cox and the…

Challenger Bus Obayomi reported $7,760 in Q2, raising his campaign total to $59,270 after starting with $50,000; his Q2 expenditures totaled $23,150, including payments to The HD Group, Mesa Sign Shop, PrintWerx and Rocket Media.

Challenger Joel Coen reported $12,400 in recent contributions (total $19,300) and received PAC support including $6,500 from the Gilbert Firefighters PAC and $1,500 from the Realtors of Arizona PAC; his Q2 expenditures were $9,400, including $5,800 to Mesa Sign Shop.

Other candidates: Bill Spence reported $1,700 in Q2 (total $11,700) after a prior $10,000 loan and had $675 in Q2 spending; Beth Goulden reported $7,150 in Q2 (total $12,135) and $11,000 in Q2 expenditures, including $5,100 to RocketChics Marketing Co.

The nonpartisan contest fills four Gilbert Town Council seats with seven candidates; Councilwoman Yung Koprowski is not seeking re-election. Filings through June 30 show mixes of self-funding, PACs and vendor payments. The Gilbert Chamber endorsed Bongiovanni, Torgeson and…