Local House candidates raise more than $37,000 in contributions

Published 4:11 pm Tuesday, February 16, 2010

A pair of Alabaster candidates for the Alabama House of Representatives have raised a total of more than $37,000 in campaign contributions, according to documents submitted to the secretary of state’s office.

April Weaver, director of business development at Shelby Baptist Medical Center, and Alabaster City Council President Jim McClain detailed their campaign contribution sources in reports submitted Jan. 31.

Weaver, McClain, Helena resident Jack Gray and Alabaster attorney Christopher Linton are vying for the District 49 seat on the Alabama House of Representatives, which is being vacated by Rep. Cam Ward, R-Alabaster.

According to the documents, Weaver raised $29,860 in contributions and McClain brought in contributions totaling $7,350.

As of Feb. 16, Gray and Linton reported no campaign contributions.

“I am so blessed to have such great community support and to have a wonderful grassroots campaign team behind me that played a very large role in raising the most money for my race,” Weaver wrote in a press release.

McClain said he was pleased with his campaign contributions, and said he expected many more as June’s Republican Primary election draws closer.

“I feel good about my contributions so far,” McClain said. “I think as time goes on, other entities’ interest will grow, and they will start lining up to support me.”

McClain’s largest contributions came from Stephen Bradley, a Birmingham-based public affairs firm, and the Montgomery-based Retailers of Alabama Political Action Committee, both of which contributed $1,000 to the candidate’s campaign.

Weaver’s largest contributions came from the Birmingham-based Associated Builders and Contractors Merit Political Action Committee and the Montgomery-based LPAC, each of which contributed $5,000.

As of Feb. 16, messages left with Gray and Linton had not been returned.