Kern holds large campaign cash lead over Cook

With the year’s second quarter in the books, St. Clair County Board Chairman Mark Kern, a Democrat, has a large campaign cash lead over challenger Rodger Cook, a St. Libory Republican.

Kern has raised more than $75,000 during the first two quarters of the year. After expenses along with money previously raised, Kern had more than $79,000 in his campaign account at the end of the second quarter, according to State Board of Elections records.

Cook is well behind, and in the second quarter raised $1,755. He also spent $1,600, which included printing signs and T-shirts, and making repairs to a campaign vehicle. He had only $169 in the bank at the end of the second quarter.

Cook, a former Belleville mayor, said he planned to ramp up fundraising efforts in the end of July, including a golf outing and reception he held on Thursday.

The golf outing fundraiser was in conjunction with his son, Belleville City Clerk Dallas Cook, who is running for St. Clair County circuit clerk as a Republican.

Rodger Cook said a final amount had yet to be calculated, but he expected more than $4,000 was raised, which will be divied up between his and his son’s campaign.

Before the fundraiser, Cook said small donations have come in to his campaign.

“I’ll be lucky to raise even one-tenth of what he’s going to raise,” Rodger Cook said.

Cook faces the uphill fundraising battle against the three-term incumbent Kern, who is independently wealthy and has in the past donated to his own campaign.

“He’s a multimillionaire, and I’m not,” Cook said. “He’ll spend whatever he spends.”

Neither Cook nor Kern would comment specifically on how much they plan to spend on the election.

Kern said it will “likely be no more than in the past.”

Cook did say he had a budget.

With the money disadvantage, Cook said he will have to outwork Kern’s campaign and talk about his record as Belleville mayor to many people.

He said there will be lots of walking door-to-door and getting his literature out and marching in local parades.

Cook added his campaign has many volunteers and hopes his association with the Freedom Coalition will be an asset.

“We’ve got a very active group,” Cook said. “This is about voting the person, not about voting the party.”

Cook has said he would be raising money through his friends.

“It’s tough to raise money as an opponent to the machine in St. Clair County,” Cook said. “We’ll get out ... We’ll have the funds we need to run a good campaign.”

Kern, has begun advertising his campaign for re-election.

According to State Board of Elections documents, toward the end of June, Kern spent more than $47,000 of his own money with DDI Media, a company which owns billboards around the St. Louis-area.

Kern has rented billboard space in the county, including on one location visible to eastbound Interstate 64 traffic.

He said there will be several billboards going up.

Kern also paid $5,000 to Price Miner Creative Strategies, a St. Louis-based company that provides “strategic communications, public relations, political consulting, media production and advertising services,” according to its LinkedIn page.

Kern said the advertising is part of making sure his campaign is “getting the message out.”

Kern also pointed out Cook is able to get many hours of free air time on Bob Romanik’s radio show. Kern also tied Cook to Romanik, who is a candidate for state representative, and Romanik’s billboard and postcards disparaging Kern.

“Rodger Cook is getting free advertising from Bob Romanik’s radio station,” Kern said. “It’s going to take dollars to combat the free message that he is getting.”

Kern said he is out in the communities meeting with people like he always does, regardless if its election time.

“We don’t just run before the election,” Kern said. “We are always in the communities trying to help. People don’t see us just during election time. I was out at the parades every year.”

This story was originally published July 30, 2016 at 1:57 PM with the headline "Kern holds large campaign cash lead over Cook."