In the race to be Kerrville's next mayor, Judy Eychner has built a campaign finance war chest more than 10 times the size of rival Brent Bates.
Eychner, currently representing Place 3 on the City Council, is looking to succeed Bill Blackburn as mayor, and she's raised more than $8,000 from 28 donors. The fundraising has allowed Eychner to spend more than $4,000 on her campaign.
According to campaign finance reports filed last week, Eychner's largest contribution comes from Cecil Atkisson Insurance Services — a $1,500 donation.
Bates has raised $600.
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Brenda Hughes, seeking re-election as the Place 4 councilmember, amassed more than $6,600 in contributions, including $1,000 from Andrea Honeycutt. Hughes' challenger, Robin Monroe, raised about $1,900, with her largest donation coming from political ally Bethany Puccio — a $600 donation. Puccio led the "Let Us Vote" campaign that worked to block the City Council's move to use certificates of obligation to begin working on the city's proposed public safety building.
However, Monroe also received $300 donation from David Barker, a former political ally of Hughes. Barker, Hughes and Roman Garcia ran as a slate in the 2020 election. Barker ran for mayor that year and lost to Blackburn.
Hughes was backed by several hardline groups, including the Kerr County Patriots, in that election year. Hughes has run afoul of these groups because she backed many of the current City Council's positions and failed to support Garcia in some of his fights with city staff.
On the flip side, Hughes earned donations from Delayne Sigerman, who Hughes defeated in 2020. The two women have become close friends and allies. The Sigerman family donated more than $250 to Hughes' campaign.
In the race to succeed Eychner for Place 3, Joe Herring Jr. raised more than $5,000 on the strength of 21 donations. Herring's opponent, Katy Chapman-Hanna, raised $2,200. To get started she loaned her campaign $1,500. Since then, she's received a $1,000 donation from her husband and an additional $1,200 from other donors.
