Observations on District 5 candidates’ 07/15/2026 Campaign Finance Reports

Some observations on the District 5 candidates Campaign Finance Reports that were required to be filed with the City of Mesa by July 15, 2026. These are available to the public at the above link. In alphabetical order:

Aleksandar Vranicic

Shows $8,187.84 total receipts and $20,547.32 total disbursements. $5,600.00 was paid for "marketing" (Forge Marketing) and  $14,061.52 was paid for "Accounting & Voter Contact" (Moir & Associates). Presumably that was mainly for street signs.

Alicia Kristin Goforth

She had $52,871 from last quarter, raised $11,637 more with $4,000 from CAMELBACK SYSTEMS, INC. director of real estate and $1,000 from Cox Az Political Action Committee (PAC). She spent $52,921.18 of which $3,694.18 was for signs, $23,836 was for postcard mailers and $25,391 was for tv ads.

Amanda Elizabeth Jones 

Disclosed no contributions and no expenses. Only showed $100 of candidate personal money.

Danny Hart

Total Receipts $2,040.78 Total spent $1,212.44. The detailed bank report https://www.danny4mesa.com/financials shows nearly all expenditures were for yard signs and printed  handouts. No political consultants, postcard mailings or TV ads were used.

Ryan Blakeman

$20,250 mostly from a variety of real estate related people, with $6,750.00 coming from a self employed Therapist.and  $5,000.00 from an Atwell Engineer. He spent $44,885.09, of which over $40,000 was for campaign political ”consultants”:

“At Roosevelt Strategy Group, we are experts in planning, organizing, and executing a winning campaign”.

• $5,275.89 Consulting Roosevelt Strategy Group
• $8,046.00 Consulting Roosevelt Strategy Group
• $6,516.48 Consulting Roosevelt Strategy Group
• $14,600.00 Consulting Roosevelt Strategy Group

Total $34,438.37

CCT Strategies, LLC is a business and campaign consulting firm based in Phoenix, Arizona. It is most prominently known in the state for providing professional consulting, management, and strategic services to local political campaigns.

• $1,062.50 Consulting CCT Strategies
• $2,072.50 Consulting CCT Strategies
• $2,725.00 Consulting CCT Strategies

Total $5,860

Summary

Just to keep this all in proper perspective, the annual salary of a Mesa City Council Member is under $43,000. Why are some candidates and their backers willing to spend so much for the position? Is it out of a civic minded desire? Or for the other perks, like campaign donations for future elections to higher office, looking good to your country club friends, advancing other business interests, ego, etc.?