On Friday night, the public got its first look at Matthew Sheldon’s campaign finances as he runs for a Durango School District 9-R director’s seat in the Nov. 3 election. They show him outfundraising his opponent, Brieanne Stahnke, by a ratio of almost 4:1.

Sheldon has raised $2,195, with 28 donors. La Plata County Commissioner Gwen Lachelt is a donor, as is well-known community volunteer and former La Plata County Democrats Executive Committee member Kathleen Adams. Adams is the single biggest donor at $500.

Contributions have ranged from $20 to $500, with almost half the donors, 12, living outside the area.

Is it appropriate for a local school board candidate to get so much of his funding from outside sources?

“People ask that sometimes about local campaigns,” Sheldon said, “but I’m really proud family and long-term friends want to invest in me. They know I can do great things for kids.”

Stahnke, meanwhile, raised another $480, bringing her total for the campaign to $580 from 10 donors. Only one of her donors is from out of the area. She said she was surprised to see so much out-of-state and out-of-the-area money involved in Sheldon’s campaign.

“My only out-of-state donation was from my mom,” she said. “His donations are coming from pretty political sources, and I guess that just illustrates the different kinds of groups he’s involved with. There’s a different motivation between us; he wants to be a politician, and I just want to serve on the school board.”

Among Stahnke’s donors are James Foster, former president of Music in the Mountains and former chairman of Rocky Mountain PBS, and former Durango Mayor Maxine Peterson. The donations to her campaign range from $30 to $100.

How the two candidates are spending their money shows a big difference in strategies.

Sheldon has spent almost $1,570, with his single biggest expense a radio campaign with Four Corners Broadcasting, owner of KIQX-FM, KRSJ-FM and KIUP-AM. Sheldon has made two buys with Four Corners for a total of $1,130. He still had more than $600 left in his campaign fund as of the filing cut-off Sunday, and said he spent $697 on one last radio-flight buy as of Tuesday.

Because he failed to register a campaign committee at the same time he filed for his candidacy, Sheldon did not file a financial report at the first deadline, Oct. 13.

“Even more bothersome than where donations are coming from is that until Oct. 13, when he formed his committee, I was under the impression he wasn’t running a campaign,” Stahnke said. “For six weeks, he was running a secret campaign, and whether that’s intentional or not, it was the vast majority of the campaign season. “

A technicality in the secretary of state’s authority meant Sheldon will not be fined for missing the campaign committee registration deadline unless a citizen files a complaint with the Office of Administrative Courts.

“If he took in contributions and made expenditures before registering a candidate committee, he could certainly be subject to a complaint,” said Lynn Bartels, the Colorado Secretary of State Office’s spokeswoman when Sheldon filed his committee registration Oct. 14, the day after the filing date. “Even if he made expenditures out of his own pocket, they should also have been disclosed.”

Sheldon’s campaign received its first contribution Sept. 14 and made its first expenditure Sept. 23, so his campaign did conduct financial business prior to the registration of his committee.

“When we filed, we got a one-pager from the school district, and it was as clear as night and day: Do not collect donations until you have formed a committee,” Stahnke said.

For Stahnke’s expenditures, using funds raised from the recent donations, the campaign committee repaid her $340 toward her loan of more than $720. Her only other expenditure during this reporting period was $228 for the purchase of two ads in the Durango Telegraph.

abutler@durangoherald.com

To vote

As of Friday, about 20 percent of the eligible voters’ ballots had arrived at the La Plata County Clerk and Recorder’s Office. It is too late to mail ballots and be assured of their arriving by the 7 p.m. Tuesday deadline.

Ballots may be dropped off at the three 24-hour ballot drop boxes, one at the clerk’s office, 98 Everett St., Suite C in Bodo Park; the La Plata County Administration Building, 1101 East Second Ave.; or Bayfield Town Hall, 1199 Bayfield Parkway.

Those who would like to vote in person may go to one of three Voter Service Centers, the clerk’s office; La Plata County Fairgrounds, 2500 Main Ave.; or the Bayfield Town Hall. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, except for the Fairgrounds, which closes at 4:30 p.m.; and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. at all three sites Tuesday.

Ballots may also be dropped off from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at the La Plata County Courthouse, 1060 East Second Ave., and Ignacio Town Hall, 540 Goddard Ave.