photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

The Douglas County Elections Office on West 23rd Street is pictured on July 13, 2022.

Reports detailing Lawrence City Commission candidates’ fundraising receipts and expenditures have been released, and one candidate has raised far more than the rest.

The Douglas County Clerk’s Office on Tuesday shared reports for six of the eight candidates running for seats on the City Commission in the August primary, and Mike Dever — who served on the City Commission from 2007 to 2015, including two terms as mayor — had generated $29,461 in campaign contributions from Jan. 1 through July 20, over $20,000 more than the next-closest candidate.

The majority of that money came from 125 donors who contributed $50 or more. Of that group, 30 donors gave the maximum possible individual contribution of $500. There are also instances of donations to Dever coming from the same address but split between spouses or attributed to a business or trust, which allows them to contribute more than that limit.

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The next closest fundraiser is incumbent City Commissioner Amber Sellers, who’s received $7,598.66 in total contributions during the same period. Sellers received contributions of $50 or more from 34 donors. Eight of them donated the maximum possible amount of $500.

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Sellers was trailed by her fellow incumbent commissioners seeking re-election, Brad Finkeldei and Courtney Shipley. Finkeldei received $5,218.25 in total contributions from 34 donors, all of whom donated $50 or more and two of whom donated the maximum of $500.

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Shipley, meanwhile, received $2,367.53 in contributions. Fifteen contributions were for $50 or more, including two from Shipley herself.

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The two other candidates to file these forms with the Douglas County Clerk’s Office were Chris Flowers and Dustin Stumblingbear. Flowers has just one contribution listed, $120 from himself, while Stumblingbear filed an affidavit of exemption indicating that he plans on receiving or expending less than $1,000 during the primary and general election periods.

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It wasn’t clear whether the other two candidates on the ballot, Justine Burton and Joshua Olafson, had filed reports. The Douglas County Clerk’s Office didn’t provide any forms from them.

There are three seats up for grabs on the Lawrence City Commission as the terms of Finkeldei, Shipley and Sellers expire. But in next week’s primary, Lawrence voters will just be narrowing the current field of eight candidates down to six. From there, the top six vote-winners will move on to the November general election, which concludes Nov. 7.

Advance in-person voting in the primary election continues through Monday, July 31, at noon at the Douglas County Elections Office, 711 W. 23rd St. The polls are open on primary election day, Tuesday, Aug. 1, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.