Raising the biggest campaign funding war chest doesn”t guarantee victory at the polls.
The recent Port of Port Townsend election proves the point.
Incumbent Bob Sokol defeated challenger Richard Wojt during the general election, but was far behind when it came to campaign contributions, according to campaign reports filed with the state.
Wojt, a former Jefferson County commissioner, raised $6,620, according to forms filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission.
Sokol solicited $3,685.35.
Most of Sokol’s contributions came prior to the primary election, when he finished second to Wojt, trailing by a little more than 100 votes.
Wojt initially wasn’t reporting contributions after agreeing to keep donations and expenses at less than $3,500, but he had to change his status when his fund-raising surpassed the state standards.
In the countywide race for District 3 county commissioner, the winner, Pat Rodgers, R-Brinnon, raised more money than his opponent, Democrat Mark Rose, also from Brinnon.
Rodgers, a retired business consultant, raised $17,480.
Rose, president of an Internet development, marketing and public relations firm, received $14,051.50.
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The rest of the story appears in the Sunday Peninsula Daily News Jefferson County edition, as does the list of campaign contributors.
