Finance
Former candidates’ finance reports herald the past — and the future
EVANSVILLE — For former Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke, the required ritual of filing annual campaign fundraising reports signaled the end of an era in local politics.
The 2023 year-end report that Republican Winnecke filed Jan. 17 was accompanied by paperwork disbanding his political committee with no money in it. The former three-term mayor, who reported raising and spending more than $1.2 million for one of his re-election campaigns, didn’t run again last year. He did receive $18,000 in donations to go with $200,000-plus that he already had — but he spent it all in 2023 and shut the whole thing down.
For other former candidates who haven’t sought elected office in a while, the annual accounting of how much money remains in the kitty represents yet-to-be-realized hope. Or at least keeping the door open. Most don’t have anywhere near the amount a mayor typically raises, but they don’t need as much either.
More: Evansville mayoral candidates file reports painting very different pictures
Jason Ashworth, a Democrat who ran unsuccessfully for Vanderburgh County sheriff in 2022, said the $1,043.62 still rattling around in his campaign account might be seed money for a future campaign for him — or his wife, Kendyl.
“She’s in her 31st year of school teaching, and she obviously is very invested in (Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp.), the kids in the corporation and in the community,” Ashworth said.
Whenever Kendyl Ashworth becomes eligible, her husband said, she might entertain the notion of seeking a seat on the EVSC school board. Or not. If neither of them runs for elected office, Jason Ashworth said, the leftover thousand dollars-plus will go “to charity or another candidate.”
Indiana state law 3-9-3-4 spells out ways money in campaign accounts may be spent, including “activity related to service in an elected office” and “continuing political activity.” The money can’t be used to pay personal expenses, but the law allows it to be spent for a variety of political actions. Giving money to other candidates is a common use of campaign funds.
County Coroner Steve Lockyear still holds elected office, but he has served the maximum allowed two consecutive terms in office and may not seek re-election this year. Lockyear said he plans to retire — but there’s still the matter of the $519.06 left in his campaign fund.
“I think legally you can donate to another candidate or to the party, and that’s probably what I’ll do,” said Lockyear, a Democrat. “It’s been one of those things my wife (attorney Krista Lockyear) and I have discussed over the last four years, on getting rid of the account — but you fill out one of these papers and you kind of forget about it until the next year. Then you start going, ‘Oh darn, we’ve got to file that report again. We need to close that account.’”
For some former candidates, intrigue remains
Sometimes there’s enough in a former candidate’s still-active campaign account to raise eyebrows — and questions about the future.
Former Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Nick Hermann, who last sought office more than a year and a half ago, reported that he still has more than $39,000 in his account.
Hermann is the subject of persistent rumors in legal and political circles that he will seek a Superior Court judgeship this year, but he did not return messages about his political plans or the money in his campaign account. The deadline for filing candidacy is Feb. 9.
School board member Amy Word, who is fighting a felony criminal charge that accuses her of “maintaining a common nuisance” at Lamasco Bar & Grill, has said she will not seek re-election in 2024.
But Word did file an annual campaign finance report Thursday, one day after the state deadline for doing so.
Word reported that she still has nearly $2,600 in her campaign account. She reported raising no money in 2023 and spending just 50 cents from her the account, an un-itemized expenditure.
Phone and text messages to Word went unanswered.
More common is the report filed by Steve Ary, an unsuccessful mayoral candidate in 2019. The Committee to Elect Steve Ary reports having “$0.00” cash on hand, mainly because he hasn’t sought any elected office for several years.
But never say never.
“I intended on keeping (the campaign account) in case I was going to run again and, quite frankly, I don’t know that I am yet,” Ary said.
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Twenty-six million dollars. That’s how much investing platform Robinhood paid out earlier this year after it was found to have breached a range of financial regulations. Amongst them? Failure to properly manage the social media influencers promoting their products. With these so-called “finfluencers” becoming an ubiquitous part of fintech marketing strategies, this eye-watering penalty should serve as a cautionary tale to brands putting content and reach above compliance and risk.
The world of the finfluencers has expanded dramatically in recent years. These young, passionate and social media savvy voices amass legions of fans and millions of views as they dole out advice on everything from stock tips to savings techniques. The main audience? Gen Z. Facing the dual pressures of a tough job market and the spiralling cost of living, Gen Zs are turning to social media for new routes to financial stability — hungry for insights and advice that will help them get ahead. With a huge 34% of Gen Zs saying they learn about personal finance from TikTok and YouTube, finfluencers have exploded in number, reach and power.
Acquiring Gen Z customers is a huge priority for marketing teams. In the world of financial products, customers are sticky. Get them young and you might have a customer for life. That’s why the rise of finfluencers represents a huge opportunity for companies operating across the finance, investment and savings space. And it’s one they’ve been tapping into.
On the surface, engaging finfluencers for paid partnership is a marketing slam duck for fintech and finance brands. Unlocking a route into Gen Z audiences via trusted, engaging voices. But, as Robinhood’s experience shows, the stakes are high when you get it wrong. Any company selling financial products or services is subject to a litany of regulation. And these high standards of compliance aren’t necessarily compatible with the fast-paced, algorithm-chasing game of social media content creation. It’s a conundrum that’s starting to trip brands up.
Alongside Robinhood, this year has also seen Public Investing fined $350k by the US regulator FINRA after influencers made misleading claims. And a recent crackdown from the UK’s financial regulator, the FCA, saw three individual finfluencers end up in court charged with encouraging high-risk strategies without the correct authorisation. Brands and the influencers they rely on are sailing far too close to the wind.
And this risk-reward matrix is only set to become more intense. The use of AI tooling in marketing is speeding up content creation and enabling thousands of iterations of adverts to run simultaneously. And brands are increasingly upping the percentage of marketing budget allocated to social media. Collectively, this is encouraging faster, more dynamic social strategies, with influencers forming a critical part. It’s putting marketers on a potential collision course with regulators cracking down on violations.
Companies leveraging social media partnership with a view to reaching Gen Z customers cannot afford to overlook this reality. From eye-watering fines to a tarnished brand, the implications of getting your social marketing wrong are severe.
But that doesn’t mean brands can’t play in this space. They just need to be smart about it.
Businesses swimming in this pool need to ensure they aren’t sidelining the compliance and risk management strategies that will keep them on the right side of regulation. This cannot be an afterthought. Marketing teams must invest in tooling, work closely with legal teams, and run stress tests on campaigns to ensure they are watertight.
Regulators are coming for finfluencers and the businesses that work with them. Companies should heed the warning and not let their quest for young, digitally-savvy customers rush them into an approach which could see them break the law and sink their finances. Instead, the same level of zeal applied to the creative should be applied to the compliance. They are two sides of the same coin. Combined, they’ll allow companies to cash in.
The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.
The United States sanctioned financial operatives funneling tens of millions of dollars from Iran to Hizballah. These individuals collaborate with businessmen and exchanges to enable significant financial transfers from Iran and conduct covert business dealings that fund Hizballah’s terrorist activities.
This action supports President Trump’s whole of government policy of maximum pressure against Iran and its terrorist proxies like Hizballah, as detailed in National Security Presidential Memorandum 2 issued on February 4.
The United States is committed to supporting Lebanon by exposing and disrupting Iran’s covert financing of Hizballah. By enabling Hizballah, Iran holds Lebanon back and undermines its sovereignty. Iran and Hizballah cannot be allowed to keep Lebanon captive any longer. The United States will continue using every tool at its disposal to ensure this terrorist group no longer poses a threat to the Lebanese people or the broader region.
Today’s action is being taken pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, which targets terrorists and their supporters. The Department of State designated Hizballah as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist pursuant to E.O. 13224 on October 31, 2001, and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization on October 8, 1997. For more information, today’s designation can be found on the Press Release.
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