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Nifong's foes raise, spend more than DA

BY GREGORY PHILLIPS, The Herald-Sun
October 30, 2006 10:22 pm

DURHAM -- Each of the two challengers in the Durham County District Attorney race has raised and spent more money in the last three months than incumbent DA Mike Nifong's campaign, according to campaign finance reports filed Monday.

A combined effort to convince voters to support Lewis Cheek -- a Democrat whose name is on the ballot as an unaffiliated candidate but who says he won't serve if elected -- spent $13,434 between July 1 and Oct. 21. The campaign for Republican write-in candidate Steve Monks spent $12,963 in the same period, while the Nifong campaign spent $8,981, the reports state.

"If anybody had any perception this was a ploy to help Mike out or split the vote, I wouldn't have been staying up every morning until 2 o'clock to raise money," said Monks, chairman of the county Republican Party. "I've got a chance to win this campaign."

Nifong's campaign had only $1,945 left after spending $45,187 to win the Democratic primary in May over Freda Black and Keith Bishop, at which point Nifong had no opposition on the November ballot.

But criticism of his handling of rape charges against three Duke lacrosse players spawned two new opponents, in Monks and Cheek, although Cheek later decided he wouldn't seek the post after his name was placed on the ballot, citing the potential impact on his young law firm.

If Cheek wins the election, the governor will select a DA. Cheek has urged voters to follow their conscience and vote for him if they want a new DA appointed.

The expenditures from Cheek's own committee, which raised $5,232 (the biggest chunk coming from Patrick Smith of Raleigh, CEO of Voyager Pharmaceuticals) all went on the petition drive to get him on the ballot, Cheek said. But his unusual campaign has also been supported by the Committee To Recall Nifong-Vote Cheek.

Of the identified donors to the Recall Nifong-Vote Cheek campaign, almost all the contributions -- $9,437 out of $9,988 -- came from outside Durham, and more than $8,000 from out of state. The biggest single donation was $2,000 from Duke Students for an Ethical Durham, a group set up by Duke students to register Duke students to vote in Durham.

Monks theorizes that families of lacrosse players and their supporters rallied to support the Recall Nifong effort, which he still sees as counterproductive, claiming the governor has no motivation to appoint someone who wouldn't take the lacrosse case to trial.

But Cheek denied the Recall Nifong-Vote Cheek campaign's out-of-state support was taking any influence away from Durham voters.

"I think people are smart enough to make their minds up for themselves," he said.

Nor did Cheek place much emphasis on Nifong raising the least money.

"I truly do believe we'll see what people think on November the 7th," he said.

Nifong's supporters raised $10,614 from individual contributions in the third quarter, including attorneys who have supported him before in Tom Miller, Mark Simeon and Robert Nauseef. Nifong could not be reached for comment Monday, but Miller said he wasn't surprised or concerned Nifong trailed in fundraising.

"I don't think he likes the part when he goes to ask people for money," Miller said. "I think he's much more interested in doing the job of district attorney."

Campaign expenditures across the board consisted mostly of signs and advertising, through mailings, newspapers and the Internet.

Nifong's campaign also trailed in the money it had left as of Oct. 21, with only $2,978 remaining for a final blitz before the Nov. 7 election. The Monks campaign still had $6,990 -- thanks to $4,251 it already had when the third quarter began -- and the Recall Nifong-Vote Cheek committee had $7,835, according to the reports.
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