By Dakota Antelman — [email protected]
More than $30,000 bankrolled campaign investments ranging from yard signs to website hosting during this year’s local election season, campaign filings show.
The spending surpassed totals from recent years and offers a quantifiable measure of this year’s busier-than-usual Select Board and School Committee races.
Eight days before election day, several candidates still had cash in their accounts, leaving open the possibility of a last-minute spending blitz.
Candidate fundraising totals
All but one Select Board and School Committee office-seeker filed disclosures before their March 31 deadline. The town clerk’s office didn’t receive School Committee candidate Michael Williams’ documents until April 2.
Though they could issue a fine, town clerk Kaari Mai Tari said local officials usually give a grace period when candidates miss a deadline.
Disclosures showed donor lists, expenditures, in-kind contributions, and campaign debts. Only Boehm and Williams reported campaign debt — which took the form of personal loans to their committees.
Select Board campaign finances are as follows:
- Elizabeth Akehurst-Moore
Total fundraising: $6,625
Total expenses: $4,809.97
Cash on hand: $1,815.03
- Paul Boehm
Total fundraising: $3,500
Personal loans: $6,740
Total expenses: $10,102.88
Cash on hand: $137.12
- Mary Hartman
Total fundraising: $6,520
Total expenses: $5,465.73
Cash on hand: $1,054.27
- Joe Laurin
Total fundraising: $4,955
Total expenses: $5,783.77
Cash on hand: $9.49
Laurin started the 2025 campaign with $838.26 leftover from his unsuccessful 2024 Select Board run.
Boehm and Hartman had small mathematical errors on their initial filings. When contacted by The Concord Bridge, both candidates’ campaign treasurers provided corrected information and said they would follow up with the Town Clerk’s office.
School Committee reports are as follows:
- Alexa Anderson
Total fundraising: $1,975
Total expenses: $1,859.74
Cash on hand: $115.26
- Sandeep Pisharody
Total fundraising: $2,566
Total expenses: $2,436.53
Cash on hand: $129.47
- Michael Williams
Total fundraising: $16,716
Personal loan: $1,000
Total expenses: $10,374.54
Cash on hand: $7,341.46
Beyond fundraising and expenses, Pisharody reported $331.96 worth of in-kind contributions. He spent $2,276.76 of his own money on his campaign.
Postage and printing
Alongside lawn signs, a large share of candidate spending this year has been focused on printing and postage. Printing costs covered campaign mailers and flyers that candidates distributed at events.
Boehm spent $7,604.68 on mailers and did not list any other costs for printing. Laurin spent $3,694.90 on printing and postage. Akehurst-Moore spent $3,542.96. Hartman spent $3,504.71.
In the School Committee race, Anderson reported $157.26 for printing. She did not list postage and her comparatively low spending indicates she didn’t pay for large-scale mailers.
Pisharody’s out-of-pocket spending came in mid-March and covered “campaign marketing materials.” In a text message to The Bridge, Pisharody confirmed those were campaign mailers.
Williams spent $704.39 on printing and he did not report any postage costs.
Top fundraiser
While his printing budget stayed slim, Williams outraised every other candidate in the election.
More than half his spending — $5,797.08 — went to lawn signs, door hangers, pins, and banners.
One atypical expense: A $600 payment to the Massachusetts Democratic Party for “voter database/software access.”
Of the 15 candidate disclosures from between 2020 to 2024 that are available on the town clerk’s web page, none include payments to a major party organization.
Current School Committee Chair Carrie Rankin declared a $289 payment to the ActBlue fundraising platform during her 2022 campaign. ActBlue is a Democratic Party-aligned political action committee. Rankin listed “fundraising portal” as the purpose of her ActBlue payment.
Previous elections
Tari said this year’s donation totals feel higher than the average. At least one metric confirms 2025 is already more intense than last year’s hard-fought elections.
Last year’s top Select Board fundraiser was Wendy Rovelli, reporting $5,190 in her pre-election filing. Boehm, Akehurst-Moore, and Hartman all surpassed Rovelli’s figure this spring.
Though he raised less money, Laurin more than doubled his 2024 haul of $2,250.
