Contributions pour in after elections

GALVESTON — More than $36,000 in campaign contributions poured into Mayor Joe Jaworski’s coffers after he’d won the election, the latest campaign finance reports show.

Jaworski, who raised and spent more on the mayoral campaign than all four of his competitors combined, continued to get campaign contributions after he swept the May 8 election, earning 53 percent, or 3,866 votes, and dodging a runoff.

Jaworski’s latest campaign finance reports show he received $36,800 in campaign contributions after he was declared the winner of the mayoral race.

That’s 83 percent of his total campaign contributions between April 30 and July 15, the last reporting period.

Among the postelection contributions, 33 of the 86 donations were received June 23, the day a host committee of wealthy and influential islanders and developers threw him a party to help Jaworski retire his campaign debt.

Many of those invited already had contributed to his campaign.

Among the biggest postelection donors:

"Paul Celauro, a principal with Houston engineering firm Dannenbaum, gave $2,500;

"C. Claunch, a Houston civil engineer for HDR Engineering, gave $2,500;

"Equipment Leasing from Mobile, Ala., gave $1,500;

"Cahaba Disaster Recovery from Mobile, Ala., gave $1,500;

"Cyrus Aghili, of the Houston-based industrial equipment manufacturer Stewart and Stevenson, gave $1,000;

"Martin Beirne, a Houston attorney at Beirne, Maynard & Parsons, gave $1,000;

"Rolando Briones Jr., president of the San Antonio-based Briones Consulting and Engineering, gave $1,000;

"Billy Burge, a managing principal from Wallis for Bury and Partners Engineering Solutions, gave $1,000;

"Nick Kralj, a principal from Austin for Nick Kralj Investments, gave $1,000;

"Galveston law firm McLeod, Alexander Powell and Apffel gave $1,000;

"The Political Action Committee of Winstead PC gave $1,000;

"Bob Perry, the president of Houston-based Perry Homes, gave $1,000;

"The Houston law firm Vinson & Elkins’ Texas Political Action Committee gave $1,000; and

"Giti Zarinkelk, of the San Antonio-based Briones Consulting and Engineering, gave $1,000.

In comparison, Betty Massey, Jaworski’s nearest competitor in the mayoral race, raised $3,050 during the same reporting period.

She received only one postelection contribution, a $1,000 donation from restaurateur Johnny Smecca.

Mayoral candidates Danny Weber and William “Bill” Quiroga did not file campaign finance reports due July 15.

In other districts:

"The ousted District 1 incumbent Tarris Woods spent $1,200 on an electronic recount of the June 19 runoff election and $2,500 on legal services from island attorney Anthony Griffin.

Griffin is representing Woods in a lawsuit against District 1 Councilman Rusty Legg contesting the runoff election results in which Legg bested Woods by nine votes, 209 to 200.

"Legg received one postelection contribution, a donation of $500 from the International Longshoremen’s Association union.

"In District 3, Galveston businessman Gerald Sullivan donated $2,500 to Sheryl Rozier the day before the June 19 runoff election. Rozier lost to District 3 Incumbent Elizabeth Beeton, 56 percent to 44 percent.

Beeton and Sullivan developed a strained relationship after Beeton took office in 2008 over the Sullivans’ plans to develop the East End Flats.