Pool files first campaign finance report

Council Member Leslie Pool was the first among her Council colleagues and candidates for the November Council election to file a campaign finance report ahead of the Jan. 15 deadline. Pool, who is seeking reelection to her District 7 seat in the fall, reported contributions of $10,985, which she started collecting in mid-December. Pool also loaned her campaign $52,500 in July. So far, no opponent has indicated an interest in running against Pool, although filing for Council races does not officially start until July 18 and the filing deadline is Aug. 17. Pool’s contributors include fellow Council Member Ann Kitchen and a number of neighborhood advocates, including Linda Bailey, and David King, Ann Denkler and Don Leighton-Burwell, who serve on the city’s land use commissions. Attorney and frequent Council critic Fred Lewis and his wife Dawn also contributed, as did Ellen Jefferson, executive director of Austin Pets Alive!