BY HOWARD WILKINSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
The Cincinnati Zoo spent about $280,000 on its successful levy campaign, while the police information center effort levy was funded largely by financier Carl Lindner.
According to post-primary election campaign finance reports filed Friday with the Hamilton County Board of Elections, the zoo raised most of the $280,625 it spent from hundreds of individual zoo members and several large corporate donations, including $25,000 from Procter & Gamble.
Last fall, the zoo spent $350,000 of its own money and failed to pass a levy. The zoo came back with a new levy, and voters approvedthe 0.42-mill, five-year measure raising $6.2 million a year for operating expenses.
Voters also approved a 0.29-mill, five-year levy for a countywide police information center. Backers of the ballot issue raised $52,675 and spent $42,572 on the campaign. Mr. Lindner gave campaign $40,000.
In Hamilton County candidate races, Republican county commissioner Tom Neyer Jr., who was appointed to the office last year, has raised $154,733 for his election campaign.
But Mr. Neyer spent about half -- $72,708 -- in TV advertising during the primary, where he easily defeated two GOP opponents. Mr. Neyer reported $82,025 in his campaign fund.
His Democratic opponent, Marilyn Hyland of Indian Hill, lags far behind. She reported spending $648 so far and $40.74 in her account. In the race for Hamilton County auditor, Democratic incumbent Dusty Rhodes reported a campaign account balance of $56,544, while his Republican opponent, former Madeira mayor Mary Anne Christie, reported a balance of $8,149.
Both parties expect the most hotly contested judicial race in Hamilton County this fall to be in the Ohio 1st District Court of Appeals, where Democratic incumbent Marianna Brown Bettman is being challenged by Republican Ralph Winkler, a common pleas court judge.
In the reports filed Friday, Judge Bettman reported a campaign fund of $80,186, while Judge Winkler had $47,567 in the bank.
