Soon, the vote counting will begin in the Lawrence City Commission race.

But as is the case in nearly all elections, the money counting begins even earlier, and we now have our first look at where the candidates stand in terms of campaign contributions heading into Tuesday’s primary election.

The three most experienced candidates in the field indeed have three of the top four spots in the fundraising totals. Bob Schumm — who has had multiple terms on the Lawrence City Commission but doesn’t currently hold a seat — was by far the top fundraiser during the period, with more than $10,000 in contributions.

Bart Littlejohn, the only incumbent in the race, was far behind that total with about $3,500 in contributions, while former city commissioner Courtney Shipley was close behind with about $3,000 in contributions.

A newcomer to Lawrence politics out-raised both of those experienced candidates. Kristine Polian, the former chief financial officer for the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority, had the second highest contribution totals with a little more than $4,000 in contributions.

Unlike presidential elections, there’s generally no polling conducted in a Lawrence City Commission election. (I’m pretty sure that is the only difference between the two races.) Thus, campaign contributions are one of the few windows we have into how much support a candidate is garnering. Yard signs are another key clue, but I don’t have any statistics to report on those because no one (especially my insurance agent) wants me driving and counting at the same time.

So, take these campaign contribution numbers for whatever you think they are worth (they might be as accurate as a national presidential poll.) As a reminder, four is an important number in this race. Voters will narrow the field of candidates from 13 to 4. The four winners in the primary election will then compete for two at-large seats on the Lawrence City Commission, with that race decided in November.

The campaign reports measure contributions received from Jan. 1 through July 24 and are required to be filed with the Douglas County Clerk’s office. Here are the totals:

• Bob Schumm: $10,650

• Kristine Polian: $4,275

• Bart Littlejohn: $3,550

• Courtney Shipley: $3,062

• Michael Courtney: $2,920

• Paul Buskirk: $500

The following candidates were not required to file campaign finance reports because they each signed an affidavit swearing to collect no more than $1,000 in contributions and spend no more than $1,000 on their campaigns: Alex Kerr; Amanda Nielsen; Eric Hyde; Mike Harreld; Peter Shenouda; Ruby Mae Johnson; and Steve Jacob.

One thing I normally check for is how much money candidates have received from political action committees, labor unions or advocacy organizations. None of the candidates reported contributions from any of those sources during the primary election season. Instead, contributions simply came from a mix of individuals, and a few business entities. You can see the list of contributors for each candidate at the Douglas County Clerk’s election hub website at dgcoks.gov/county-clerk/voting-and-elections/current-candidates.

In terms of notable items, a couple of candidates do have significant amounts of self-funding as part of the above totals. Shipley has $1,000 of her contributions coming from her household, while all $500 of Buskirk’s contributions came from his household.

Perhaps the most notable item, though, is that contribution totals are quite a bit lower than what I’ve seen in many past City Commission races. In fact, they are far below what we saw during the 2023 Lawrence City Commission primary. The top four candidates in that primary race collected a total of $44,644. Compare that to the $21,537 collected by the top four this year.

Now, the 2023 race did include a prolific fundraiser in Mike Dever. He had nearly $30,000 in contributions, and indeed went on to be the top vote winner in the election. But the second through fourth-place fundraisers brought in a little more than $15,000 compared to about $5,000 from this year’s group. What that means is unclear, but there’s always a chance it means voters aren’t very tuned into the race. If so, that could mean even lower than normal voter turnout, which is usually already pretty low in primary races.

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In addition to campaign finance reports, candidates also are required to file another important, but often overlooked, document. It is called a Statement of Substantial Interests form. Candidates — and officials who already have been elected — are required to file the form because state officials have determined it is important for the public to know some details about what candidates own, where they get paychecks from, whether they serve in leadership roles for other organization and other such matters. The forms even ask for information about the candidate’s spouse, if applicable.

Transparency has become a growing topic in the political world, of late, so in that spirit, I read through all the SSI forms for City Commission candidates. The reports get more detailed than you might expect, listing individual stock holdings and information about retirement accounts, which generally were 401(k) and IRA accounts managed by various mutual fund companies. I haven’t included those specifics here, but they are available on the forms, which can be accessed through the Douglas County Clerk’s election hub online.

I do list any privately owned company that the candidate or their spouse has an ownership interest in, and also list where they have received any compensation from during the last 12 months. On that point, note that the form asks for any place the candidate or spouse has received at least $2,000 in compensation from during the last 12 months. That doesn’t necessarily mean the person is still working for that organization. It also is worth noting that the ownership listing does not include their personal residence. Lastly, I also list any organizations that a candidate or spouse holds an official role with.

• Paul Buskirk: He has received compensation from Kansas Athletics Inc., while his spouse, Lauren, has received compensation from St. John Catholic School in Lawrence. In terms of organizations where official positions are held, Paul Meadow Place Homeowners Association, while his spouse listed Lawrence Hidden Valley Girl Scout Camp.

• Michael Courtney: His spouse, Cynthia, is the owner of The Jerk Researcher, LLC, a Lawrence-based HR company, according to the filing. Michael has received compensation from Ramen, LLC, while his spouse has received compensation from Grandview Animal Hospital and from The Jerk Researcher. His spouse also has received commissions or fees from MetroVet St. Louis, Veterinary Speciality Practices Alliance, and the American Veterinary Medical Association. As for director or leadership roles in other organizations, Michael list director of system engineering at Ramen, LLC.

• Eric Hyde: Compensation listed came from Social Security Disability Income and Victory Bible Church in Lawrence.

• Mike Harreld: Compensation listed came from Bert Nash Community Mental Health Center.

• Steve Jacob: Compensation was listed from the City of Lawrence and Uber.

• Ruby Mae Johnson: Compensation listed came from Interpersonal Psychiatry LLC, Headquarters Inc. and CVS Health.

• Alek Kerr: No ownership interests in companies, no compensation of $2,000 or more were listed. Board of director positions were listed for the following: Midcoast Radio Project; Independence Inc.; Transformation Visitation Home; Creative Emajinations; Pinnacle Winds

• Bart Littlejohn: Compensation came from Pinnacle Technology. Spouse, Lynnette, received compensation as a self-employed rental property manager. Spouse also received commission and/or fees from Option Management Services in Lenexa.

• Amanda Nielsen: Compensation listed came from Overland Charters in Kansas City, Kan. and TransDev in Lawrence.

• Kristine Polian: Compensation listed came from Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority. She was listed as a director and owner of KP Government Consulting in Lawrence.

• Bob Schumm: Ownership interests were listed as Schumm Properties LLC, a commercial real estate holdings company, and Fun Time Video, a vending machine business, according to the filings. Organization with leadership roles held were listed as Sister Cities of Lawrence, Old Fashioned Christmas Parade, and Downtown Lawrence Inc., while his spouse, Sandra, holds a director role with Friends of Jung.

• Courtney Shipley: Compensation was listed as Sandgren Properties, a Lawrence-based rental property business. Her spouse, Richard, listed compensation from Standard Beverage in Lawrence. She listed a director position for the Lawrence Association of Neighborhood.

• Peter Shenouda: Ownership interest were listed as two rental properties. Compensation was listed from DirectTV. His spouse, Deana, listed compensation from Bank Midwest.

Voters have until 7 p.m. Tuesday to cast their ballots. In person polling locations will be open throughout the city on from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. People who aren’t sure of their assigned polling location, at dgcoks.gov/county-clerk/voting-and-elections/your-voter-information.