Wed., Green Party 13th Ward alderman candidate Ken Hollenbeck filed Committee to Elect Hollenbeck. The MEC Candidate Name field has "Hollenback" as his surname, meaning you'll only find it if you use the Committee Name field for the search.

13th Ward Alderman Fred Wessels is showing $40,448.17 on hand in his 40 Days Out Report. If history repeats itself, $30,000 of that
will be a check to the candidate in the next report. Wessels loaned his campaign the amount on Sept. 30, 2008 and it was on his Oct. Report. For his 2005 re-election, he made a loan of $30,000 on Sept. 29, 2004, in time for the Oct. Report and before filing opened. It was shown as paid off by the 8 Days Out Report. Absent a Primary challenger, a Green Party opponent in the General Election, and $10,000 in non-loan money on hand, Wessels might very well not feel a need to spend his own money on this election.

Nine of Wessels' last 15 reports showed only bank account interest for receipts. April 2005 to present, Wessels took in $17,152.88, not counting the loan. Most of it came from his Oct. 2007 fundraiser catered by Christy Banquet Center, in the 13th Ward. 132 donors gave $15,440: $325 each from 19 donors, $300 from one donor, $250 each from two donors, $200 each from four donors, $150 each from 2 donors, $100 each from 47 donors, $75 each from two donors, $50 each from 35 donors, $40 from one donor, $25 each from 19 donors.

Donor types: $550 from three candidate/party committees; $175 from three Labor donors; $1,225 from five businesses; $325 from a PAC; $100 from St. Mary's High School (which seems odd); and the remaining from individuals. There was one donor with a City contract, $100 from Rich Wagner. Wessels' reports do not provide the required employer/occupation information for donors, nor was there a completed Contractual Relationship Form on Wagner. But his name and address match GOP donor Richard Wagner of Pella Windows and Kozeny-Wagner in the FEC database.

Some interesting disbursements made by Wessels include: a subscription to The Economist; $125 to the Parking Violation Bureau for two tickets; a $300 donation in 2005 to former 24th Ward Alderman Tom Bauer and $500 in 2006 to 3rd Ward Alderman Freeman Bosley's Citizens Against Recall during the recall campaigns against them; $100 in 2006 to 138th Dist. State Rep. Sara Lampe (Springfield); and $500 in 2007 to 12th Ward Alderman Fred Heitert, the Board's lone Republican who faced both a GOP challenger and Democrat in the General Election.

Wessels also gave $100 to Friends of Louise Tonkovich, the 16th Ward Committeewoman's committee. That committee doesn't show up in the MEC database.  Political party committeemen and committeewomen are elected during the Aug. primaries of presidential election years and have two options for campaign finance reporting. Under Section 130-043, they don't have to file committees for their offices if they choose to use only their ward committees, which are reportable to MEC. Or, they can form their own committees, which are reportable only to local election authorities under Section 130-026 2.(4) for all other offices. In order to access that information, you 1) have to know it might exist and 2) have to go to the St. Louis Board of Election Commissioners to find it.

Fred and Gloria Wessels own Glorious Cruises, which operates under the dba Cruises by Gloria.

Unlike some aldermen, Wessels doesn't control more than one committee. The 13th Ward Regular Democratic Club is run by Committeeman Fred Steffen and Committeewoman Beth Murphy. Steffen is the former longtime Clerk of the Board of Aldermen, now local lobbyist. He was challenged last Aug.  for his committee post by public school teacher/activist Nick Clement, winning with 51.35% (455 votes) to Clement's 48.31% (428 votes). Murphy is treasurer for the _Holly Hills Improvement Assn.

The committee has not filed a report this year and MEC is not showing one for Oct. 2007. The Oct. 2008 report shows $3,736 on hand. The April 2005 to present reports show a total of $6,400 in monetary receipts and $437 in-kind from Anheuser Busch (for the group's picnic). The Brewery was also their only corporate money donor, giving $1,000. Only one PAC gave to the committee, $500 from Missourians Against Tax Abuse, the group which in 2006 helped defeat Constitutional Amendment 3 (tobacco tax). The remaining $4,900 in donationscame from Democratic Party and candidate committees. They look rather poor compared to Alderman Bosley's 3rd Ward organization.