Catching up

Fear and Loathing in Waynesboro column by Chris Graham
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Frank Lucente’s city-council campaign has officially retired its debt, though it took a late infusion of cash from some big-money supporters for the self-styled fiscal conservative to be able to do so.

Lucente had listed a campaign debt of $2,148 on a campaign-finance report filed with the local Board of Elections last month. Contributions totaling $1,950 that came into the campaign between June 30 and July 14 helped pay that debt off, according to a campaign-finance report filed on July 15.

The contributions came from Augusta Lumber owner Mitch Carr, who contributed $500 to the Lucente campaign on June 30; local real-estate broker Arthur Harrison, who contributed $600 to the Lucente campaign on July 3; Augusta County lawyer and businessman Roger Willetts, who contributed $600 to the Lucente campaign also on July 3; and Ward B city-council member Bruce Allen, who contributed $250 to the Lucente campaign on July 14.

Waynesboro voter registrar Mary Alice Downs told me that the Allen contribution was a repayment to the Lucente campaign for radio-advertising costs that the Lucente campaign had picked up for the Allen campaign earlier in the election cycle.