By JIM BUTLER
Rapides Sheriff Mark Wood, buoyed by more than $200,000 in campaign funds, will formally announce his re-election bid at a Kees Park function this afternoon (5-7 p.m.).
Qualifying for the Oct. 14 primary is in August and first campaign finance reports for this year are not due until September.
Wood, elected in 2019, enters the contest, if in fact he has opposition, with a campaign account bolstered by 2022 fundraising.
According to his year-end report, Wood raised about $240,000. Added to $12,400 on hand as 2022 began and adjusted for campaign expenses, he started this year with a war chest of about $222,000.
In addition to monetary donations Wood’s campaign received about $6,600 in in-kind contributions of goods and merchandise for a fund-raising golf tournament he hosted in June.
About $16,800 spent by the campaign for that tournament, including $5,500 for use of Oak Wing Golf facilities and $850 for cart rentals accounted for just over half the Wood campaign spending for the year.
Contributions as a result of the golf day are not itemized. Such events have become a staple in political fundraising efforts.
The rest of the $30,000 expenses for the year were the customary mix of donations to schools, churches, benefits, other politicians’ funds, supplies, food and special gifts.
On the income side, 37 individuals or businesses reached the maximum contribution of $2,500 for the campaign.
Only one Political Action Committee – Local 247 PAC Fund (plumbers & steamfitters) is among them.
Others listed at that level (Rapides Parish address unless otherwise noted) include:
PoBoy Express, Stephen Anderson, Barth Properties, Robert Beauregard, Central Management Co. (Winnfield),
Sharon Chicola, Correctional Food Services (Dallas), Country Living Manufactured Homes, D-MAX Tint Audio,
Diamond B Construction, Douglas Farms, Robert Fountain, Paul Guillory;
Higgins Law Office, Damin Horieh, JCL Power, Melinda Mahfouz, Mike Slocum Enterprises, Susan Mosley, National Waste Management LA, Neblett Beard & Arsenault, OneStop Smoke & Vape, OneStop Smoke & Vape (Natchitoches),Phillip Terrell Campaign Account, Precision Paint & Drywall,
Provosty, Sadler & DeLunay, Ratliff Construction, RMP Management, Jennifer Roberts, Rozier McKay & Willis CPA, Abbie Spurgeon, Samuel Spurgeon, Tarver Land Development, The Tower of Alexandria, Family Holdings Mark K. Thompson, Billy Timmons.
The complete report can read at the La. Ethics Administration website.
