Freitas’ campaign reports show fundraising lead in District 3 Antioch council race
By Allen D. Payton
According to campaign finance reports known as Form 460’s, as of June 30th, former Antioch mayor Don Freitas had raised the most money of the three candidates running for city council in District 3, with a total of $5,055. But an additional $2,500 received on August 11th brings his total to $7,555 raised with all but $55 in the form of monetary contributions.
His report for the period of Jan. 1 through June 30, 2024, shows he raised $5,000 in monetary contributions including $2,000 from himself, all from within Antioch, and an additional $55 in non-monetary, referred to as an in-kind contribution, which were for fees he paid out of pocket to form his campaign committee and to the bank where its account is located.
The other contributions received were $2,000 from Susan Kennedy of Antioch, a Senior Policy Advisor in the U.S. House of Representatives and $1,000 from his campaign treasurer, Stephanie Bonham of Antioch, who is listed as retired.
Since the close of the reporting period, Freitas filed a Form 497 which shows he had received an additional $2,500 on Aug. 11 from GBN Partners of Danville, which stands for Ginocchio, Blackhawk, Nunn, land developers for the already approved Promenade projects north and south of Sand Creek Road. The Form 497 is required for state and local committees making or receiving contributions that total $1,000 or more in the 90 days before an election. It brings Freitas’ total to $7,500 raised for his campaign.
That compares to the $3,411 that second-time candidate Antwon Webster raised, which were all loans from himself, as previously reported, and $4,056.88 that was raised by the third candidate in the race, newcomer Addison Peterson. Of that amount $1,500 was an in-kind contribution from his wife for website design, $1,980 in loans, and $576.88 in monetary contributions. But Peterson did not provide details for the loans which were included in his Form 460 report for the period ending June 30th, as it appears there were received after. Questions about his campaign finance report were sent on Tuesday and await a response.
Freitas’ greatest expenditures were $1,500 to Carla Marymee of Antioch for website development and $450 to Mark Marymee of Fremont for photography. Asked why he didn’t use a photographer in Antioch, instead, the candidate responded, “He is Carla’s former husband, and they work together on the websites she develops. The business really is Carla’s, Rivertown Communications Marketing.”
Freitas’ original Form 460 showed a total of $2,063.18 in expenditures. But he submitted an Amended report a week later showing a corrected amount for total expenditures of $2,062.20, a reduction of $0.98 which was from a change in the cost for campaign checks paid to Travis Credit Union, where the committee’s account was opened. That left him with an Ending Cash Balance of $2,937.80 to spend on his campaign before the $2,500 contribution on August 11th. See Freitas’s Form 460 and Form 460 Amended.
The election is November 5th.
Please check back later for any updates to this report.
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Election 2024 Finance
