web1_Misericordia-Logo.jpg

Misericordia women move into second at MAC track championships

web1_TTL050517Accident.jpg

Accident causes Cross Valley traffic problems

<p>Brian Macko, John Augustine and Ferris Webby have spent the most of the six candidates in the race for District Judge Ronald Swank&#8217;s seat in Mountain Top, based on a snapshot review of campaign finance reports.</p><p>Campaign committees for the three candidates invested more than $100,000 total into the race for the retiring Swank&#8217;s job as of May 1, two weeks before the May 16 primary.</p><p>Macko appears to be the biggest spender. He and his wife, Colleen, lent his campaign a total of $34,000, according to campaign treasurer Scot Murphy.</p><p>Murphy provided figures from the finance report Friday evening after a reporter inquired because workers at the county Bureau of Elections couldn&#8217;t immediately locate it. Murphy said he had a receipt to prove the report was filed in the office Wednesday &#8212; two days before the deadline.</p><p>Murphy said Macko&#8217;s campaign received another $5,523 in contributions and spent $37,216 so far this year. Part of that money went for billboards around Wilkes-Barre Township and Mountain Top.</p><p>Augustine also has at least one billboard in the county advertising his run for office &#8212; an electronic sign off Route 309 between Wilkes-Barre and Mountain Top.</p><p>Augustine started off his race by loaning his campaign $100 in November to open a bank account, and then $5,000 in December, according to a campaign finance report for 2016. The campaign also received $1,000 in contributions from individuals last year, and three in-kind contributions totaling $2,688. The campaign also spent $2,224 on postage, Facebook ads and business cards last year.</p><p>Augustine&#8217;s wife, Kristine, lent his campaign $11,050 in April, and the candidate listed an additional 16 loans he made to the campaign between Feb. 13 and April 30 totaling $3,041.82</p><p>This year, Augustine&#8217;s campaign received a total of $38,006.82 in contributions, including the loans from him and his wife. Five in-kind contributions totaled $1,675.</p><p>His campaign committee listed expenditures totaling $32,888.95, including $3,000 to Revere Digital for billboards and $2,170 to Revere for media consulting.</p><p>Webby loaned his campaign $5,000 in November. The campaign also received $11,250 in contributions last year, including that loan. The campaign spent $2,803.39 through Dec. 31 and carried over $8,446.61 into 2017.</p><p>This year, Webby&#8217;s campaign received $24,244 in contributions and spent another $29,489.36. One of the contributions &#8212; for $500 &#8212; came from a Political Action Committee &#8212; Harrisburg-based PAFWD.</p><p><strong>Other candidates</strong></p><p>Stacey Acri&#8217;s campaign committee collected $8,750 in contributions this year and spent about half of that &#8212; $4,531.47.</p><p>Apparently, neither Stacey Acri nor her campaign received donations nor spent money last year above any reporting threshold.</p><p>Thomas Szoke&#8217;s campaign committee took in $300 and spent $200 of that amount, according to a finance report.</p><p>Election Bureau workers could not locate any finance report filing for Tim Lenahan or his campaign committee.</p><p>Candidates are not required to file a report if they and their committee spent less than $250.</p><style>
.neFileBlock {
	margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
	margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
	border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
	padding-bottom: 5px;
	padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
	font-size: 85%;
}
</style>
<div class='neFileBlock'>
<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Dollar-Sign.jpg">
<div class="neCaption"></div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/web1_Dollar-Sign.jpg</photo0><caption0></caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Steve Mocarsky</p><p>smocarsky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Steve Mocarsky at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @TLSteveMocarsky.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Three big spenders in Mountain Top district judge race