The two candidates for the open Alexandria City Council seat filed their campaign finance reports earlier this week. Republican Bill Cleveland, who has raised just over $47,000 since May 8, came out on top. His opponent, Democrat Justin Wilson, reported raising just over $33,000 in cash and $8,500 in in-kind contributions.

The Cleveland campaign was ecstatic. We think that we have rocked and rolled over our opponent, said Mike Lane, a spokesperson for the campaign. All of our contributions have been cash and most of our 272 contributors are individuals.

Wilson was equally proud of his fundraising efforts. We have raised more than $33,000 in cash and the in-kind contributions have been equally important to our campaign, Wilson said. The in-kind contributions provided services that we would have had to pay for. That we have raised nearly as much money as Mr. Cleveland is a testament to our organization. He has been raising campaign funds for more than 20 years and this is our first campaign.

Cleveland, who served on City Council for five terms and ran for both mayor and sheriff unsuccessfully, received three large contributions from corporations and a Political Action Committee. Two contributions of $2,500 each, came from Carydale and The 2727 LLC, owners of large rental apartment complexes in and around Alexandria. Another contribution of $5,000 came from The Affordable Housing PAC, a group of builders.

Wilson received donations from 236 different individuals. Wilson received four contributions of $1,000, two from individuals, one from the Saslaw for Senate campaign and one from the Virginia Leadership PAC. The Alexandria Democratic Committee spent $4,400 on advertisements in local newspapers and Alexandria Toyota contributed office space, telephones, and the use of a minivan, amounting to an in-kind contribution of $3,500. At the end of the reporting period, Cleveland had cash on hand of just over $16,000 while Wilson had just over $9,200.

Endorsements
Each candidate is also proud of his various endorsements. Both Cleveland and Wilson have been endorsed by the Education Association of Alexandria, the teachers union, and Wilson has been endorsed by the Alexandria Police Benevolent Association.