The majority of the money given to candidates running in the city's contested 2011 races for mayor and the City Council at-large seat came from donors outside of Laurel, according to campaign finance reports obtained from the city.
In the November 2011 city election, Laurel voters selected incumbent Mayor Craig Moe over challengers Michael Sarich and Valerie Cunningham; and incumbent Council member Michael Leszcz over Adrian Rousseau, his challenger for the at-large council seat.
Moe's donations — which included nearly $2,000 worth of in-kind contributions (about $1,500 from himself) — totaled $10,155. Of the $8,176 he raised through cash donations, $4,050, or 49.5 percent, came from Laurel donors.
"I hit with letters my friends and people I grew up with and those types of things," Moe said of who he solicited for donations. "Some are in the city and some have moved outside."
A few of Moe's donations also came from developers, including $500 from Konterra Realty, $250 from Legends Group and $250 from Gingles LLC.
Moe spent about $12,700 on his 2011 campaign. His largest expense — $4,500 to Gonzales Research — paid for a poll, which Moe said he commissioned to make sure he was "hitting on the right issues."
Sarich's donations, which included about $1,300 worth of in-kind contributions, totaled $7,007. Of the $5,686 he raised through cash donations, $2,700, or 47.5 percent, came from Laurel donors, including $1,000 from the Environmental Defense PAC (Political Action Committee).
Sarich spent about $7,700 on his campaign.
Cunningham's donations (excluding a $600 loan) totaled $9,845. Including $1,000 she gave to herself, only $2,005, or 20.4 percent, of Cunningham's campaign cash came from Laurel donors.
The majority of Cunningham's roughly $10,400 in expenditures went to Universal Elections, a Baltimore-based company that sells "do-it yourself campaign kits," according to its website. She said her $10,000 package bought campaign signs, literature, T-shirts, a website and auto calls.
Cunningham said she has not reviewed anyone else's campaign reports, but she does not believe money played a deciding factor in the election.
Sarich and Cunningham finished second and third respectively in the race for mayor.
In the race for the at-large City Council seat, Leszcz raised almost seven times and spent more than four times the amount of money that his challenger, Rousseau, did.
Leszcz gave himself a $360.65 in-kind donation and raised $6,075 in cash, only $1,450, or 23.8 percent of which came from Laurel donors. The majority of Leszcz's remaining donations — $4,400 of $4,625 — came from members of the Berman family. The Bermans are the original developers of the Laurel Mall, the Laurel Shopping Center and several other retail properties in Laurel.
Leszcz spent about $3,500 on his campaign. In comparison, Rousseau only spent $800.
Rousseau raised $900. He gave himself $100, earned $600 from two Laurel donors and $200 from three donors outside of the city.
Sarichand Rousseau did not return calls seeking comment.