On April 4, west-side voters reelected Maurice Cheeks to a two-year term on the Common Council with 84 percent of the vote over challenger Steve Fitzsimmons. The result was the most lopsided of the five contested council races this spring. So why was Cheek’s campaign one of the most expensive in city history?
Michael Jacobs, the former election chair for Progressive Dane, calls it “baffling.” Jacobs says candidates typically spend between $8,000 to $10,000 in a competitive council race. Cheeks spent almost $18,000, more than three times his opponent. Three other incumbents facing challengers — Alds. Barbara Harrington-McKinney, Sheri Carter and Zach Wood — spent a combined $12,000. Fifteen alders ran unopposed, with four spending no money.
“I was blown away that kind of money was spent [by Cheeks],” says Jacobs, who ran Ald. Ledell Zellers’ campaign in 2013. “I simply don’t get it. Why Cheeks put that amount of money into the race is somewhere between bizarre and unnecessary.”
In the one council race without an incumbent, Arvina Martin defeated Bradley Campbell to represent another west-side district. Martin spent the second most of any candidate — $10,700 — but she and Campbell collectively spent less than Cheeks.
Cheeks declined a request for a phone interview, but did respond by email to questions.
He did not address the extent of his spending but offered that he “worked hard to raise the funds necessary to maximize the level of engagement” with his constituents.
In a poster shared on social media the day after the election, Cheeks boasted that his campaign was “a record-setting fundraising effort” with more than 250 donors contributing $19,000.
Cheeks spent most of his money on campaign fliers developed by Pivot Group Inc., a consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. According to his campaign finance report, Cheeks also paid $1,000 to veteran consultant Jake Hajdu. Hajdu was Hillary Clinton’s state director in Wisconsin for the 2016 presidential race and is a former executive director of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. He’s now running the gubernatorial campaign of state Rep. Dana Wachs (D-Eau Claire). Hajdu says he saw advising Cheeks as an opportunity to work with “Madison’s brightest young leader.”
“We talked about the issues he was passionate about. Obviously, that resonated well with voters,” Hajdu says. “[Cheeks] also demonstrated a local fundraising prowess that we haven’t seen in some time.... I hope this is a candidate we see a lot more of in Madison.”
Cheeks also paid recent UW-Madison political scientist graduate Chandler Denhart $1,545 to manage his campaign.
This was Cheeks’ first race with an opponent. During a March debate at Isthmus, Cheeks said he was seeking a third term to continue closing “the opportunity gap that exists in our city.” Fitzsimmons’ campaign focused primarily on respect for police.
The most expensive council race was in 2003, when Brenda Konkel spent $9,100 to defend her seat against developer Erik Minton, who spent $19,100. Jacobs says money can be an important factor in council races but not the only factor.
“A hardworking, well-connected candidate that puts in the shoe leather can absolutely beat money,” Jacobs says. “Local elections are still very grassroots.”
Cheeks did pound the pavement in his campaign. According to the poster released after the election, he and his supporters knocked on 6,342 doors and volunteers donated “600+ hours.”
Cheeks continues to spend campaign funds on social media, even with the election over. In his email to Isthmus, Cheeks says that is intentional. “I am going to continue to invest in engaging our community on these important issues, while also using social media to widen the net of people who feel invited to participate in their local government.”
