Phelan’s war chest closing in on $38G

LYNN – City Council President Timothy Phelan has $37,991 in his campaign war chest, nearly twice the amount Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy reported in her election committee coffers, according to campaign finance reports on file at City Hall.Phelan’s largest contributor at $500 was liquor store owner C. V. Nguyen. Other donors included Lynn municipal employees Frederick Cronin, Ralph Cronin, Joseph Driscoll, Richard Fortucci, Charles Gaeta, James Marsh and Richard Vitali. Contributions were also received from developers such as Thomas DeMakis, Jeffrey Gouchberg and David Solimine Jr.Phelan, an attorney and councilor-at-large who lives with his wife and children at 2 Meghan’s Way, has made no secret of his interest in running for mayor. The largest share of his campaign expenditures went to Go Daddy to develop a political Web site and for office supplies.Kennedy, also an attorney, noted her campaign committee has $21,051 in its account.Since taking office, she and Phelan have sparred on several issues, including whether city councilors should be paid 15 percent of Kennedy’s salary or 15 percent of the significantly larger salary collected by her predecessor, Edward Clancy Jr.Lynn city council salaries are tied directly to the mayor’s pay. When the Lynn mayor gets a raise, council salaries go up as well.All political candidates who engaged in fund-raising activities were required to file their campaign finance reports at City Hall by Thursday, Jan. 20. Phelan missed the deadline because he delivered his report to the home of City Clerk Mary Audley, who was out of state on personal travel. Audley brought the report to City Hall on Monday.Ward 2 Councilor William Trahant Jr. also missed the deadline but e-mailed his report to the Election Office by Friday, Jan. 21. Trahant reported a year-end campaign committee balance of $140.Councilor-at-large Stephen Duffy’s report was still not on file Monday.Of three School Committee members who missed the Jan. 20 deadline, Vincent Spirito has since filed his finance report. He showed an end balance of $1,700. The amount was carried over from a previous report.Information from School Committee members Donna Coppola and Patricia Capano remained outstanding Monday, according to Karen Richards, head clerk of the Election Office..Richards said Coppola changed her residence since the last election, resulting in the delay. A campaign finance form has been mailed to Coppola’s new address, she said.