Election 2008: Follow Up Part 1

This is the first in a multi-article series to be published online at egcitizen.com and on this blog. Stories will also be published in the print edition of the Elk Grove Citizen.

Council Finances: Mike Leary, the only incumbent to lose, brought in a lot of donations as he sought re-election.

Elk Grove City Council Member Mike Leary, who lost his bid for re-election to the District 3 seat on Nov 4, received $9,500 in donations from Oct. 27 through election day, Nov. 4.
The donations came from as far away as Watsonville and included area development power Angelo Tsakopoulos.
Leary received first received $1,000 on Oct. 27 from Granite Construction Company, a company specializing in highway building and also underground tunnels. The firm has a Sacramento Branch located on Bradshaw Road.
The company's main Web site touts itself with this description: "Incorporated in 1922, Granite Construction Company builds roads, tunnels, bridges, airports and other infrastructure-related projects used by millions of people. In addition, Granite produces sand, gravel, ready-mix and asphalt concrete and other construction materials. Unusual among large contractors, Granite handles both large and small jobs through its two operating divisions, Granite East and Granite West."
On Oct 28, Leary received a donation of $2,500 from the California Real Estate Political Action Committee, which follows these bylaws guiding political donations.
On Election Day, Nov. 4, Leary received more donations - including $5,000 from Angelo G. Tsakopoulos Real Estate Investments, based in Carmicheal; and also $1,000 from Sharif's Jewelers #1, on Howe Avenue in Sacramento.
Leary really increased his campaign donations as the election neared.
From Oct. 1, 2008, through Oct. 18, 2008, Leary raked in a massive $42,825 in donations. Comparatively, he received $35,099 in donations from the period beginning July 1, 2008 and ending Sept. 30, 2008 according to campaign documents Leary filed with the city of Elk Grove.