Cole, Martinez respond to Adler spending

With the release of Monday’s campaign finance reports, Council Member Mike Martinez and Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole got a look at the kind of money that mayoral opponent Steve Adler is raising and spending.

Adler, a newcomer to politics, reported that he loaned his campaign $296,000 and spent more than $492,000. Combined with the $102,000 loan he made last week, Adler maintained just over $101,000 in cash on hand.

Martinez reported raising nearly $87,000 during the period ending Sept. 25. He spent about $131,000 and maintained more than $102,000 at the end of the contribution period.

Mayor Pro Tem Sheryl Cole raised more than Martinez but less than Adler, bringing in nearly $113,000. But she spent only a little more than $26,000, leaving her campaign with about $176,000 in the bank.

On Tuesday, Cole offered what she called “budget lessons from a PTA mom.” She said, “By the looks of the spending reports of my opponents, they’ve clearly never been in charge of the grocery budget for growing boys. When you can’t afford steak, you buy pot roast, or ground beef for meatloaf, and you make enough for leftovers. There is no doubt my opponents know how to spend. Let’s just hope that they don’t have the opportunity to burn through the city’s money the same way they’ve gone through campaign cash.”

Martinez’s deputy campaign manager, Bo Delp, said, “Steve Adler raised a half-million dollars and spent it on D.C. consultants to devise a tax plan that gives huge breaks to millionaires and asks middle-class families to pay for it. Meanwhile, Mike Martinez is the only candidate to build a functional campaign and effectively manage his resources, to translate enthusiasm on the ground to votes on Election Day.”

Delp, who has a 202 (Washington, D.C.) area code, added, “And if Steve Adler hadn’t loaned himself an emergency cash infusion last month to pay his staff and D.C. consultants, his campaign would be bankrupt today.”

Adler’s campaign manager, Jim Wick, said, “What D.C. consultants is he talking about?” He said the Adler campaign spent a small amount on analysis from one D.C. consultant.

“Obviously a campaign budget is not a city budget,” Wick said. Martinez and Cole know that from their three previous campaigns, he continued, adding that “Steve knows the difference, having worked in the legislature and run a small business.”

The Adler campaign has put $150,000 into a TV buy. Wick said the campaign saved 20 to 30 percent by buying early. “(Martinez and Cole) will be paying more to get those coveted TV spots in the last weeks of the campaign.”

Wick revealed that the TV stations let the Adler campaign know that Attorney General Greg Abbott, who is running for governor, had already bought up about 70 percent of the local advertising slots. That means it will be harder to buy space and it will cost more, he said.