$44,000 SPENT IN COLLECTOR'S RACE

Cape Girardeau County collector candidates spent over $44,000 in the August primary, campaign finance reports show.

That works out to $8.70 per vote in Cape Girardeau County as 5,082 people voted in the election.

Two Democrats and four Republicans ran in the primary. The winners -- Democrat Judy Beussink and Republican Diane Diebold -- will face off in the Nov. 3 election. The winner of that contest will succeed Collector Harold Kuehle, who is retiring after 32 years in office.

Four of the six candidates in the primary election filed post-primary campaign finance reports. Republican Tom Cahill of Cape Girardeau didn't have to file a disclosure form because he didn't spend any money in the race.

Candidates who don't spend over $1,000 don't have to file campaign finance reports with the county clerk's office.

As of Tuesday, Republican Matt Hopkins of Cape Girardeau hadn't filed his 30-day-after-election campaign finance report.

Hopkins, the executive director of the March of Dimes office in Cape Girardeau, said he wasn't aware that he had to file the post-primary report.

Hopkins estimated he spent about $10,000 in his campaign. "I spent $7,000 of my own money," he said.

Hopkins lost to Diebold by 278 votes in the GOP primary.

Diebold, who lives in Jackson, spent the most money of any of the county collector candidates in either party. She raised $14,415 and spent $13,903.

Chris Johnston of Fruitland finished a distant third in the GOP race, with 304 votes. He spent $3,322.

Cahill, who vowed not to erect a single political sign, finished fourth with 92 votes.

On the Democratic side, Beussink defeated Ed Meadows despite being outspent.

Beussink of Jackson raised $7,306 and spent $6,578 in the primary campaign. Meadows, who also lives in Jackson, spent $10,469.

Campaign expenses for the county collector candidates included everything from yard signs to newspaper and other media advertising.

Candidates spent some of their own money in running for office. Meadows, for example, loaned his campaign $4,000. Diebold loaned her campaign $3,500, finance reports show.

Beussink said candidates have to spend some of their own money in county races. They don't have the long list of contributors that state and federal candidates can count on.

Beussink, who works in the county clerk's office, said there were several reasons why she ran a lower-cost campaign than some candidates.

"I didn't do radio and I didn't hire professionals to help me," she said.

"It is hard for me to let go of that money," Beussink said.

Campaign finance reports for most county offices are filed solely with the election authorities in those counties.

Staff from the Missouri Ethics Commission visit the county clerks' offices to inspect the various finance reports that are filed in an election year.

If they detect problems, the commission can ask a local prosecutor to file charges.

"If you do not file reports, you are subject to violations, which run from infractions to a Class A misdemeanor," said Mike Reid, director of compliance for the Missouri Ethics Commission in Jefferson City.

Most candidates comply with the law. "We have compliance probably better than 90 percent," Reid said.