Two leading Democratic candidates for Baltimore County executive — Councilmen Julian Jones and Izzy Patoka — each have seven-figure amounts to spend in the final month before the June 23 primary election, according to the latest round of campaign finance reports released late Tuesday.
Patoka reported that he has $1.1 million in reserve, while Jones has $1 million.
Voters should expect to be inundated with television ads, mailers, signs in commercial strips and yards, and online testimonials about which candidate is the best suited to lead Maryland’s third-largest county for the next four years.
Three other Democrats trail far behind in fundraising. Nick Stewart, a business attorney and former school board member, has around $256,000 on hand for the final stretch.
Councilman Pat Young has about $109,000 in campaign funds, while Mansoor Shams, a county parks attorney who entered the race in January, has about $21,000. Young and Shams have opted to participate in the county’s new public financing system, which limits contributions from individuals to $250.
But only Young has met the threshold to qualify for matching public funds. Since January, the candidate’s campaign has received nearly $174,000 through the program.
These totals illustrate how expensive the contest has become. The five Democrats together have raised $3.3 million since the current election cycle began in 2023, with Patoka and Jones hauling in the bulk of that.
Though they are all Democrats, the five candidates have different ideas for how to move Baltimore County forward. The county, by many accounts, is at a precipice. It’s dealing with an affordability crisis, a housing crunch, a shrinking population and general dissatisfaction from voters on myriad issues — among them, transparency in government, a backlog in permits, and the control individual councilmen exert over development in their districts.
The candidates spar weekly, sometimes even daily, at forums where they air their ideas for improvement. But most of these are sparsely attended, and getting the message out requires funds. Patoka and Jones are in the best position to do that.
Most campaigns seek to run ads and send out mailers. A countywide mailer costs between $50,000 and $70,000, according to the Patoka campaign. Patoka and Jones are both running television ads, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on frequency.
Candidates were required to file reports by midnight Tuesday covering fundraising and spending from mid-January through last week.
Over that period, Jones raised the most; he pulled in around $174,000. Stewart was next, with more than $101,000. Patoka raised nearly $98,000.
Under campaign finance law, the most an individual can contribute to a campaign is $6,000. Among those who wrote $6,000 checks to Stewart in recent months were local developers: Michael Silberman of Owings Mills, CEO of Abrian Enterprises; Evan Morville of Towson; and Brian Diamond of Lutherville, an attorney for Axios Real Estate Group.
Patoka received $6,000 apiece from two Washington, D.C., consulting groups that focus on efficient government services — Public Access Group and Morgan Bay Group. Jones received $6,000 from the campaign of Baltimore City State’s Attorney Ivan Bates.
On the Republican side, Timonium native Pat Dyer, who runs an investment firm, has about $16,400 cash on hand. Community activist and businesswoman Kimberley Stansbury has $3,400. She has raised most of her money through small donations from individuals.
Rob Daniels, the lone independent in the race, has not yet filed his May disclosure form. As of January, the Pikesville attorney had $3,500 in the bank.
The candidates are required to file one more campaign finance report on June 12 before the primary.
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