By Moses Leos III
As Election Day draws near, the Kyle City Council District 1 race continues to speed full steam ahead as both candidates vying for the seat spent $8,600 from Jan. 1 to April 7 toward their campaigns.
Leading the way in spending for the District 1 race was challenger Travis Mitchell, owner of Mitchell Motor Sports in Kyle, who spent over $6,300, according to his Campaign Finance Report filed 30 days before Election Day.
Of that amount, roughly $4,400 was labeled as advertising expenses, including $2,800-plus dollars for political signs. During the same time frame, Mitchell gathered $695 in political contributions, with Nathan and Jennifer Cross, owners of Cross Plants and Produce, contributing $200.
Mitchell, who has spent his own money toward his campaign, has $845 in his war chest.
Mitchell said the reason for spending so much was because he was “going against a secure incumbent that’s been in town longer than me.” Since Nov. 10, 2015, Mitchell has spent a total of over $9,800 toward his campaign.
He said spending money on polltical signs was important for “raising awareness.”
“To me, I can’t do it halfway. I’ve been committed from the very beginning,” Mitchell said. “I’m going to do everything to pull out all of the stops and give it my best effort.”
Mitchell said he is continuing to “engage everyone he can to get his message that the “future of Kyle is at stake and we need someone local that represents the people.”
“We need a business owner on council that is in the vested future of this town,” Mitchell said.
Meanwhile, incumbent Diane Hervol has joined the trend of high dollar spending toward her campaign.
Hervol, who is seeking re-election for a second time, spent $2,290 on poltical advertising expenses. It includes an expenditure of $2,248 on political signs.
But the entirety of Hervol’s spending came directly from the over $3,000 in political contributions she received during the time period.
Highlighting Hervol’s contributions was $500 from Buda realtor Clara Springs-Adams, and a $1,000 contribution from Bill Johnson.
Hervol said the monetary donations were a result of people “believing in me … in some fashion.”
“There are others who have volunteered toward block walking, or graphic design,” Hervol said. “For some, contributing money is what they chose to do.”
She added the increased spending showed both candidates were “doing their job.”
But Hervol said she has recently spent money to replace five political signs she believes may have been stolen or vandalized.
Despite the issues, Hervol said the campaign thus far has been “good.” As the spending skyrocketed for the District 1 race, expenses for incumbent and challenger in the District 3 at-large city council seat have been low key.
From Jan. 1 to April 7, District 3 incumbment Shane Arabie and candidate Randall Lloyd have spent a combined total of $100 toward their respective races.
Arabie, who is seeking re-election for the first time, collected $100 in contributions, and made a $100 expenditure toward his campaign.
Lloyd, who is a 13-year Kyle resident, collected $25 in political contributions, but did not make a political expense.
