$210K In Campaign Contributions Reported In Fairfax City Mayor's Race

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Fairfax City mayoral candidate Sang Yi racked up more than double the amount of donations his opponent, Catherine Read, has received this year, according to the latest campaign finance filings published earlier this week by the Virginia Public Access Project.

As of Sept. 30, the Sang Yi for Fairfax City Mayor Committee reported raising $15o,288 in 2022 compared to the $64,429 the Catherine Read for Fairfax City Mayor Committee raised over the same period. Yi's committee had $95,973 on hand at the end of September, while his opponent had $32,428, according to VPAP.

For comparison, David Mayer spent $25,504 and Mark Angres $10,859 in the May 19, 2020, Fairfax City mayor's race, according to VPAP.

Here are Yi's top 2022 donors as of Sept. 30:

• Yi for Fairfax City Council - Sang: $66,794
• Main Street Virginia PAC (Political) - $3,000
• iTech AG LLC (Information Technology) - $2,750
• Suzanne Amiragoff-Spikes (Financial Services) - $2,750
• Mitchell Cho (Management Consultants)- $2,500
• Steve Stombres (Lobbyist) - $2,500
• Kenneth J Nunnenkamp (Attorney) - $2,500
• William Bruce Jennings (Warehouse/Moving Companies) - $2,500
• Executive Press Inc (Printing/Publishing)- $2,500

Yi is his own top donor, launching his 2022 campaign committee for mayor in April with two donations ($30,000 + $36,794 = $66,794) from the committee he formed the first time he ran as a Fairfax City Council candidate in 2018.

Of Yi's other top donors, Main Street Virginia PAC is a political action committee that primarily supports Republican candidates, although it's also contributed to candidates from the Democratic Party, according to VPAP. In 2020, Main Street contributed $13,000 to Fairfax County Board Chair Jeffrey McKay's campaign.

Related: Partisan Politics Emerge In 2022 Fairfax City Mayor's Race

From February 2021 to April 2022, Main Street donated a total of $7,750 to the Yi for Fairfax City Council Committee.

After being re-elected in May 2020, Yi's city council campaign committee ended the year with a balance of $17,896, according to VPAP. That grew to $50,069 by the end of 2021.

In the first couple of months of 2022, Yi's committee incurred expenses of approximately $6,000, but $20,391 in contributions were added by May 31. Yi officially announced his intention to run for mayor on June 22.

As of Sept. 30, the Read for Fairfax City Mayor campaign reported receiving $64,429 in campaign contributions, according to VPAP. Here are the top donors:

• Thomas W Greeson (Attorney) - $2,000
• Deborah Wade Smith (Stockbrokers/Financial Advisors) - $1,525
• Mary S Peterson (Realtors) - $1,500
• Wendy Asbury (Non-Wage Earners) - $1,500
• Zakiya Thomas (Political Consultant) - $1,500
• Deb Smith (Advertising/PR/Direct Mail/Marketing) - $1,193
• David Bulova (State Delegate) - $1,000
• Elizabeth Bauer (Non-Wage Earners) - $1,000
• Marianne Vakiener (Schools - Career and For-Profit) - $700
• Julia Krebs-Markrich (Attorneys/Law Firms) - $500

In addition to being Read's husband, Greeson is the current chairman of the City of Fairfax Democratic Committee and the former president of the Democratic Business Council of Northern Virginia.

In 2015, Yi ran as a Republican against incumbent Democrat David Bulova, — one Read's top donors — for the 37th District seat in the Virginia House of Delegates.

Related: Fairfax City 2022 General Election: Guide To Candidates, How To Vote

Both Yi and Read, as well as all the candidates in the city council and school board races, are running as independents, which is a requirement of the Fairfax City Charter.

Here are the total amounts raised by city council and school board candidates in 2022, according to the latest campaign finance filings:

Fairfax City Council - Pick 6

• William Bates - $6,824
• Kate Doyle Feingold - $4,044
• Jeff Greenfiled - $13,901
• Joseph Harmon* - $6,484
• So Lim * - $21,258
• Anahita Nemat Renner -$17,022
• Tom Ross* - $13,743
• Craig Stephen Salewski - $4,535
• Jon Stehle* - $7,548

City of Fairfax School Board - Pick 5

• Stacy Renee Hall - $0
• Amit Hickman - $300
• Sarah Kelsey - $800
• Rachel McQuillen - $0
• Carolyn Pitches* - $0

* Incumbent

Related: Fairfax City Residents Meet One-On-One With Mayor, Council Candidates