The race for Ogden’s first new mayor in over a decade continues to draw in tens of thousands of dollars in donations, even as the field has narrowed to two.
With the primary elections in the rearview, Ogden now has two choices for its next mayor: current city council member Ben Nadolski, and Taylor Knuth, the deputy director of the Salt Lake City Arts Council.
Both have tallied over $100,000 each in contributions over the course of their campaigns. Recent campaign finance reports show both have gathered thousands of dollars in donations since their primary wins.
Nadolski, a regional operations supervisor with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, gathered over $40,000 in donations between Aug. 26 and Sept. 25, according to the latest campaign finance report made public earlier this week. The current city council member led all candidates in fundraising before the primary election, raising a little over $100,000 as of late August.
Individual donations to Nadolski’s campaign include $500 from Weber County Sheriff Ryan Arbon, $500 from Utah state Rep. Casey Snider’s campaign fund, and $1,000 from Jill Koford, the 2022 GOP candidate for Utah House District 10 who lost to incumbent Democratic state Rep. Rosemary Lesser.
His campaign also received $5,000 from the Utah Forward PAC, a local wing of the Forward Party founded by former presidential candidate Andrew Yang, and $5,000 from the Northern Wasatch Association of Realtors.
“We are really proud of the support from both individual and business donors that we continue to receive,” Nadolski told The Salt Lake Tribune in a text message. “Their support has helped us engage with as many voters as possible.”
Knuth has also raked in cash in recent weeks. His campaign collected over $36,000 between Aug. 26 and Sept. 23, according to his most recent campaign filing. He reported over $90,000 in contributions in his previous campaign report.
Among Knuth’s financial supporters are Lesser, who has donated $3,500 over the course of Knuth’s campaign, and Angela Choberka, chair of Ogden City Council, who donated $1,000. Both have endorsed Knuth’s run for mayor. Knuth also received $500 from Salt Lake County District Attorney Sim Gill’s campaign.
Groups that have contributed to Knuth’s campaign include $5,000 from the Wyoming-based Way Back PAC; $2,000 from O2 Utah, a nonprofit that focuses on clean air in Utah; and $1,000 from the Northern Utah Labor Council.
“I am overwhelmed by the support our campaign has seen, both from voters and donors,” Knuth said in a statement. “We have by far the most individual donors: 343 people have joined our campaign to get back to the basics of good government. The size of donations range from $1 to $5000.”
Knuth added, “We have seen even more enthusiasm to be involved after our primary victory.”
Knuth and Nadolski will square off in the general election on Nov. 21. Both are vying to replace current Ogden Mayor Mike Caldwell, who announced in March he would not be seeking reelection.
