Jolie Justus, lifted by union and corporate money, has early mayoral fundraising lead

Maximum contributions from corporate interests, labor unions and civic groups propelled Jolie Justus to an early fundraising lead over rival Quinton Lucas for next month’s Kansas City mayoral election, new campaign filings show.

Justus, a 4th District council member, took in $302,990 in donations from April 1 to May 4, a span that covers the weeks immediately following a primary that saw her and Lucas emerge as finalists from an 11-member field.

Campaign finance records show that Justus received dozens of maximum contributions of $3,325 in April and on into early May. These include donations from the Heavy Construction Laborers Union, the United Auto Workers and political action committees of electric utility Evergy and the Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce.

Lucas amassed $177,290 over the same period. His haul came primarily from smaller donations made by lawyers, bankers and others. He received maximum contributions from a committee tied to the fire fighters union, businessman Barnett Helzberg and the Kansas City Police union’s political action committee, among others.

The Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce’s political action committee also gave Lucas a maximum contribution.

Lucas also received maximum contributions from two name partners in the Leawood law firm Ketchmark & McCreight. Michael Ketchmark gave the Kansas City black political club Freedom Inc. $53,363 in March. Freedom Inc. endorsed Lucas in the primary.

Justus reported $251,885 cash on hand as of May 4, records show; Lucas had $173,341.

Campaign fundraising is not necessarily an indication of a candidate’s popularity, but can shed light on which people and industries are seeking access to the next mayor.

The general election is June 18. The deadline to register is May 22. Both candidates are seeking to succeed Sly James, who has served two terms and cannot run for a third.

This story was originally published May 10, 2019 at 10:50 AM.