Kazoua Kong-Thao raised more money in the last month than other candidates vying for the open City Council seat in St. Paul's First Ward, according to Ramsey County campaign finance reports filed Tuesday.
Kong-Thao, a charter school operations director and former St. Paul school board member, raised $16,255 from Sept. 16 through last week. She spent $8,776 in that period, the same amount as the race's leading fundraiser, community organizer and IT manager Dai Thao.
Thao raised $8,740 in the last month, putting his total contributions at just under $33,000. His cash on hand was reported at $10,183; Kong-Thao, who has raised an overall total of $26,118, had a cash balance of $11,889.
Noel Nix, a City Council aide, raised just over $10,000 since early September and has raised $16,123 overall. His cash balance as of last week was $8,260.
Candidates Paul Holmgren, Johnny Howard and Mark Voerding did not report significant changes from their September reports. Debbie Montgomery did not file a report, according to Ramsey County.
In the mayoral race, incumbent Chris Coleman reported raising $36,000 in the last month, giving him cash on hand of $156,215. Landlord and businessman Tim Holden, his main challenger, raised $7,740 in the same period, about $6,000 of it coming from a personal loan he made to the campaign. He reported his cash balance as $1,755.
Among Coleman's contributions: $500 from New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. If he is re-elected, Coleman will take over next month as president of the National League of Cities.
KEVIN DUCHSCHERE
