The winners in the four contested Goochland supervisors’ races all outspent their opponents, according to figures provided by the Virginia Public Access Project last week. The campaign reporting information is current through December 1, with the next filing deadline January 17.

In some cases, the victor outspent the loser by a factor of four or five to one. In one race the challenger spent more than 100 times more money than the loser!

District 2 represented the most lop-sided spending by the two candidates. Challenger Manuel Alvarez Jr. outspent incumbent and current Board of Supervisors Chairman William E. Quarles Jr. $10,374 to $100. Quarles had pledged not to accept campaign contributions and to spend no more than $1,000 of his own money on the campaign trail.

Alvarez said money spent on mailings was critical to his 806-514 victory over Quarles.

“I don’t think I could have made it without them,” he said, explaining that when he went door to door many residents already knew his name and face. Yard signs were also a significant expense and important to his campaign, said Alvarez.

Other districts showed similar results.

In District 1, winner Susan Lascolette spent $9,193 in her campaign to defeat long-term incumbent Andrew Pryor, who spent only $2,664. Lascolette won by a 51.6 to 48.2 percent margin, 728 votes to 680.

District 3 incumbent Ned S. Creasey outspent Alan Tucker $5,345 to $1,044. Creasey was the only incumbent supervisor to survive Nov. 8, winning by a comfortable 71 to 29 percent margin, 750-307.

Only in District 4 were expenditures roughly equal, with incumbent Malvern R. “Rudy” Butler spending slightly less than challenger R. H. “Bob” Minnick. Minnick spent $12,049 to Butler’s $11,275 and prevailed by six votes, 842 to 836, a result that triggered a recount petition by Butler recently dismissed by a three-judge panel due to a procedural error on Butler’s part.

District 5 saw Ken Peterson win an uncontested race, with VPAP listing his expenditures as $0.

Goochland GOP Committee Chair Ben Slone said money is a necessity in any campaign.

“If you are going to run a serious campaign, especially if you are not an incumbent, you need money to create name recognition,” he said. “It always costs money to get your message out.”

In the four contested School Board elections, only one winning candidate was out spent.

In District 4, Phil Davis spent $2,879 according to reports filed with Goochland Registrar Frances Ragland, whereas winner E. A. “Beth” Hardy spent only $2,087.

But in the other three contested races, the victor outspent his opponents.

In District 1, Michael E. Payne disbursed $6,685 to incumbent James Haskell’s $2,083.

In District 2, Kevin Hazzard faced two opponents. He spent $3,427 compared to $512 by Penny J. Palen and $200 by incumbent Raymond A. Miller.

And in District 3, incumbent Ivan O. Mattox went down to defeat after also pledging not to accept campaign donations and reporting no money spent. Victor John L. Lumpkins Jr.’s reports showed $2,637 spent.

Although he faced no opposition, District 5 School Board candidate John D. Wright reported spending $361.

The lesson? Personal campaigning may be important but having a well stocked campaign war chest can also be part of a winning strategy.