Final Look at COR Money Race

It's often said that history doesn't repeat itself, but it rhymes. In some ways, that was true in 2025. To see why, we have to go back to what I wrote in this space in 2013:

Money *did* make the Richardson mayoral election go around, but like a carnival ride that goes around and around and never gets anywhere. And here's the irony: for the backers of direct election who thought this would increase democracy, know that the cost of entry into electoral politics in Richardson just went up big time. Electoral politics in Richardson are likely to get less democratic in future, not more. Who has the deep pockets who can pay that cost of entry? Land developers, for one.

That brings me to the one money angle to this election that, had I noticed in time, I just might have made something of. Laura Maczka collected $5,000 from a developer who has come before the City Council seeking zoning approval for development projects in Richardson, and may do so again in future. That's sketchy, especially when it's this guy. It may not be illegal, but it just looks bad. Really bad.

Source: The Wheel, May 16, 2013.

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It's sad that we're still arguing over the same old, same old — money in politics. Back in 2013, I complained about developer money going to Laura Maczka. In 2025, I complained about developer money going to Bob Dubey. Maybe, just maybe, the reason the mayoral race turned out so differently this year is that Richardson voters learned something from 2013 and couldn't be fooled again. Developer money didn't carry the day this time.

Before I get too big a head by implying that I was thinking of the Maczka/Jordan bribery scandal in 2013 when I wrote that about a campaign contribution from a property developer, go ahead and follow the link above. It wasn't Mark Jordan I was referring to, it was Dale Wamstad, as unsavory a campaign donor as any politician could ever hope to be in bed with have on their side (I had to change the metaphor, for obvious reasons). But that was 2013. This is 2025.

Let's take a last look at the campaign finance story of 2025. The summary below combines results from campaign finance reports filed at three different times: year-end 2024, 30 days before election, and 8 days before election. Another report is due July 15, 2025, which will include last minute donations, including donations right after the election. (In 2023, Bob Dubey received a donation from Manasseh Durkin three days after that year's mayoral election. Say it with me now: "IT JUST LOOKS BAD.")

Candidate	Contributions	3 Biggest Donors	Amount
Bob Dubey	$65,021	Felix Y Chen	$8,000
		Todd Fobare	$3,000
		Jason Simon	$3,000
Amir Omar	$28,910	Richardson Fire Fighters	$3,000
		Stephen Springs	$3,000
		Imran Chaudhry	$3,000
Alan North	$0
Arefin Shamsul	$29,855	Richardson Fire Fighters	$3,500
		Richardson FOP	$3,000
		Mohammed Farhad	$2,000
Lisa Kupfer	$1,375	Martin Garvie	$400
		Johnny Lee	$200
		Neil Orleans	$200
Dan Barrios*	$7,855	Andrew Sommerman	$1,000
		Carrie Barlow	$1,000
		Hon. Carol Donovan	$3,000

  ^* Unopposed candidate whose contributions were reported in 2024. All 2025 contributions for unopposed candidates are not due to be reported until July 15, 2025.

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The above amounts were contributed directly to the candidates. There was also an untold amount of money spent by PAC, 501(c)(4), and LLC organizations for and against candidates.

Cherry pick your own data point to tell a story.
Bob Dubey raised twice as much money as Amir Omar and still lost by 13%.
Arefin raised more money for his council race than Omar raised for his mayor's race.
The biggest single donation was $8,000 from Felix Y Chen to Bob Dubey.
Arefin raised 22x the money raised by Lisa Marie Kupfer, but she received 38% of the vote in her race against him.
Alan North raised $0 and spent $3,980 of his personal funds, but he received 4% of the vote.

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"Dubey's tide was high.
Twice as high, still washed away,
Thirteen points behind."
—h/t ChatGPT