Published: October 24, 2009 12:05 am      

Judicial hopefuls spend big

EBENSBURG — Tens of thousands of dollars are being spent this fall in the fierce battle being fought by three candidates for two Cambria County judgeships up for election.

The campaign expenditures are being pushed ever upward as the contenders continue to pour more dollars into media ads, billboards and even direct mailings.

The expenditures totaled $128,544 by the three campaign committees this fall, according to pre-election finance reports filed this week. That’s on top of the $224,981 the three candidates spent in the May primary.

Johnstown-area lawyer Linda Rovder Fleming’s campaign spending is the highest this fall with expenses totaling $68,905.

Fleming’s campaign outlay for the year comes to $122,448, the second-highest to date.

The spending by the other two campaign committees slowed slightly from the spring, according to figures in their latest reports.

District Attorney Patrick Kiniry’s committee, which had $96,045 in primary expenditures, has spent $37,015 this fall. The Kiniry campaign’s total to date of $133,060 has been the highest.

Ebensburg lawyer Gary Jubas’ committee listed $22,624 in fall expenditures. That takes his campaign total to $98,027 with his primary expenses of $75,403 included.

Fred R. Smith, Cambria’s elections supervisor, said that the spending is not surprising.

“Cambria County has a history of quite costly campaigns when people are running for major offices, such as judge and commissioner,” Smith said. “It seems the expenditures here are three to five times higher than in surrounding counties.”

The reason, he said, is the high costs of media advertising on local television stations, cable networks, radio stations, in newspapers, on billboards, and by yard signs and direct mailings.

A sampling of expenditures:

• $11,283 by Jubas and $15,193 by Fleming, both to WJAC-TV for advertising; $12,450 by Kiniry for advertising placed by Kane Advertising.

• $4,785 by Jubas to Southern Alleghenies Advertising for yard signs, pins and pens.

• $4,800 by Kiniry to Lamar Advertising for billboards.

• $13,013 by the Fleming campaign for postal costs and $11,675 to Pathfinder Communications, all for mailings.

“Unfortunately in a campaign, one has to use all the media,” Kiniry said. “So when you add up the costs of even a modest campaign, it gets very expensive. It’s done to get your message across and out to the electorate.”

The three candidates, in addition to spending long hours on the campaign trail, also have spent their own money in loans or donations to the their campaign committees. Even though most instances are labeled as a “loan,” candidates generally don’t get their money back, Smith said.

Fleming loaned her committee $38,000 for the fall campaign on top of the $10,320 she loaned in the primary, for a total of $48,320.

Kiniry’s loans totaled $34,500: $24,500 this fall and $10,000 in the spring.

Jubas’ loans came to $33,000: $15,000 this fall and an additional $18,000 for the primary.

Fleming noted she was outspent in primary by the other two.

“I’ve come this far, and I knew I wanted to have a more aggressive marketing campaign this time around,” she said. “I have professional help, and I’ve tried to develop a plan to get my message to the voters and hopefully convey to them that I’m the right person.”

Jubas was asked why he was willing to loan his campaign money.

“Because you make a commitment to yourself and the people, and that’s what it takes to convey your message to the voters,” he said.