Cropp, Fenty Battle for Funding Edge

D.C. Council Chairman Linda W. Cropp raised $781,000 in two months to regain a total fundraising advantage over council member Adrian M. Fenty in the most expensive mayoral race in city history.

But Fenty has spent less money and has $1.61 million remaining in the bank, more than the $1.27 million that Cropp has left with just a month remaining before the Sept. 12 Democratic primary.

"The amount of money we have in the bank will allow us to really get my message out," Fenty (Ward 4) said last night. "If you have the resources we have been able to raise, it allows us to go on the offensive, talk to voters and engage them and win their support with our message."

Cropp said the latest report -- for June 11 through yesterday -- shows that her momentum is growing. "It shows that my support grows as more and more voters consider the high stakes in this election and the clear differences between me and Mr. Fenty," she said.

Cropp vowed to redouble fundraising efforts after Fenty took the money lead in June. By last night's filing deadline, Cropp reported that she had raised a total of $2.54 million.

Fenty raised $618,000 during the most recent reporting period, less than Cropp, though a Washington Post poll last month showed that he led her by 8 percentage points among District voters. All told, Fenty has raised $2.37 million.

With both Cropp and Fenty holding large amounts of cash, the campaign promises to heat up. Both campaigns are poised to roll out radio and television advertisements within a week or two.

This week, Cropp funded a mass mailing of a four-page brochure that attacked Fenty's vote against an emergency crime bill last month. This morning, in the Shaw neighborhood of Northwest Washington, Cropp has scheduled a news conference with former deputy U.S. attorney general Eric H. Holder Jr. to tout new neighborhood surveillance cameras that were part of the crime package.

Even before this reporting period, the mayoral race was the city's most expensive. The five major candidates have raised a total of more than $6 million. But Cropp and Fenty have broken away from the pack. Council member Vincent B. Orange Sr. (Ward 6) raised $36,000 this reporting period, and lobbyist Michael A. Brown raised $43,000. Former telecommunications executive Marie Johns had yet to file as the midnight deadline approached.

In the closely contested race to replace Cropp as council chairman, council member Vincent C. Gray (D-Ward 7), who held three fundraisers yesterday, appeared to take a big financial lead over Kathy Patterson (D-Ward 3).

Although Gray had not filed by last evening, he said in an interview that his report would show that he had collected $245,000 in this period, far more than Patterson's $73,000 and nearly as much as the $277,000 she has raised in total. Gray's effort boosts his total collections to $431,000. He has $229,000 in cash on hand, he said, compared with Patterson's $92,000.

In the Democratic primary campaign for an at-large council seat, lawyer A. Scott Bolden has raised more than double the amount of incumbent Phil Mendelson. Bolden collected more than $79,000 in this period, bringing total receipts to $415,649, compared with Mendelson's $162,115. But Mendelson had $100,000 on hand, about $20,000 more than Bolden.

In the competitive ward elections, a few candidates continue to outpace their rivals for the Democratic nomination. Ward 3 candidates Bill Rice, former spokesman of the D.C. Department of Transportation, and shadow senator Paul Strauss are ahead in the nine-way race. Rice has raised a total of $144,834, and Strauss has raised $113,292. Strauss has about $91,000 in cash on hand, $20,000 more than Rice.

In Ward 5, Harry Thomas Jr., son of the late council member Harry Thomas Sr. (D-Ward 5), and Frank Wilds, former president of the Ward 5 Democrats, remain the leaders in a crowded field. Thomas raised almost $19,000 in this reporting period, and Wilds raised more than $11,000, but Wilds has about $43,000 in cash on hand, double the amount that Thomas has.

Cropp's financial support has come largely from the business community, which has heartily endorsed her. Cropp, 58, has pledged to build on the economic development fostered by outgoing Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D).

Fenty, 35, has received some business support, but his appeal has been broader, with more contributors donating smaller amounts. "A lot of the things are really consistent with the campaign I have been running to date," Fenty said, "a lot of grass-roots, door-to-door campaigning."

Staff writer Elissa Silverman contributed to this report.