I've been getting some feedback from Will Raymond and Matt Pohlman on my story, "Most missed filing deadlines."

The story said only Laurin Easthom managed to file her special pre-election report by the Oct. 29 deadline but that Pohlman and Matt Czajkowski postmarked theirs by the deadline and that Raymond's was a day late because of a Board of Elections software error.

Pohlman called to clarify that he did fax his report, along with mailing it, on Oct. 29. The BOE Web site has no record of the fax, but I have left them a message asking them to confirm (I've also asked whether any other candidates might have faxed, just in case). The fax means that both Pohlman's and Easthom's reports were available to the public on Oct. 29. Pohlman said he was proud of hitting every campaign-finance deadline.

Writing here on OrangeChat Raymond said even though his special pre-election report wasn't available at the BOE Web site on Oct. 29, he did post it on his own Web site.

As of Oct. 28, Mayor-elect Mark Kleinschmidt had spent about $16,000 out of just over $18,000 available to his campaign, according to a campaign-finance report he filed about a week late last Friday. It says he had raised about $5,300 -- close to his limit of $6,000 -- and received $13,000 from the voter-owned elections program. If he has any money left over, it must be returned to the town, regardless of where it came from.

Matt Czajkowski, one of the only three candidates who managed to file the special pre-election report by the Oct. 29 deadline, had raised $30,000 and spent more than $25,000.

Gene Pease had spent nearly $6,300 by Oct. 19, more than any other Town Council candidate, but he didn't file his report on time and it doesn't yet appear on the State Board of Elections web site. Matt Pohlman, the second-leading spender at $5,000 as of Oct. 19, did file his special pre-election report on time, and he had spent about $8,500 as of Oct. 28.

A post-election report is due on Nov. 19 and will reveal the final numbers.

At least one critic of the town's public financing program is questioning why most candidates didn't file their special pre-election campaign finance reports on time.

Pre-election reports were due on Oct. 26 and then again on Oct. 29. Only Matt Czajkowski, Matt Pohlman and Laurin Easthom hit the Oct. 29 deadline with a postmark. As of Oct. 28, Czajkowski had raised more than $30,000 and spent more than $25,000 on his mayoral campaign.

In 2007, Czajkowski spent more than $15,000 between the first "pre-election" report 10 days out and the election itself, prompting the council to insert a "special" pre-election report due a few days before the election. 

"It's actually there so that people who aren't participating [in public financing] can show people what they are doing near the end," said Mayor-elect Kleinschmidt, who qualified for $9,000 in public funding plus another $4,000 in rescue funds because Czajkowski topped $21,000 in contributions.

But Czajkowski-supporter Greg Gerdau criticized Kleinschmidt and top vote-getter Penny Rich for not submitting the special reports on time.

"Certain Town Council members were so furious two years ago about money spent in between the 'pre-election report' and the election that they put in the 'special pre-election report' which obviously is supposed to be filed immediately prior to the election," wrote Gerdau in an e-mail to the N.C. State Board of Elections. "Why was this not enforced? ... Why are you not requiring candidates spending taxpayer money on their own elections to be timely and transparent in their reporting of its expenditure?"

Rich did finally file hers on Nov. 5, a week late. Overall, Rich collected more than $1,400 in individual contributions and nearly $2,900 in public funds and spent nearly all of it. Kleinschmidt said he filed by Nov. 6, though his report still doesn't show up on the Board of Elections web site.

"That was a complete oversight on our part, and apparently everyone else's, and I regret that," he said.

Councilman-elect Gene Pease still hasn't filed his, according to the BOE, nor have outgoing incumbent Jim Merritt, challenger Jon DeHart or mayoral candidates Augustus Cho or Kevin Wolff. Town Council challenger Will Raymond filed his a day late.

UPDATE: Augustus Cho called to say he didn't know about the special report and would check with the State Board of Elections Wednesday to find out if he needed to comply. Kleinschmidt told me the board hadn't warned any of the candidates of the coming deadline, which he acknowledged was not an excuse. The lack of notice apparently tripped up a lot of them.

Jim Merritt started a landslide of campaign slogans at the League of Women Voters forum Monday.

"Remember," he said in his closing statement,"Chapel Hill has Merritt."

Next in line was Matt Pohlman: "I don't have any catchy phrases. Pohlman is limiting."

Ed Harrison revived his slogan from 2005: "Common Sense for an Uncommon Town."

Laurin Easthom deconstructed the whole endeavor: "Chapel Hill Has Merritt. Everybody Votes Raymond. For Pease in a Pod. DeHart of Chapel Hill. All I ask is to just, 'Vote Easthom'. I can't think of anything."

City Council candidate Darius M. Little has launched his campaign Web site, http://dariusforcouncil.weebly.com.

The site describes his experience, goals and platform — the last concentrated on public safety and economic development.

Among goals, he has:

"Creating a 'family atmosphere' in Durham, by working to include all people in our Democracy, by allowing them to see their concerns being seriously addressed, at the decision-making table."

Susana Dancy, parent of two Carrboro High students and realtor, filed to run for a spot on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board today.

Dancy, who has spoken out for arts programs and academic equity at the relatively new Carrboro High, is the seventh candidate in the race. 

There are three open seats on the board this year.

The last day to file is tomorrow by noon.

East Chapel Hill High parent Christine Lee filed for school board elections today.

She joins five other candidates, including incumbent Greg McElveen, who are looking to fill three open seats on the Chapel Hill-Carrboro school board.

Lee has two kids at East Chapel Hill High and another who just graduated from the school. She has served on school improvement teams at Smith Middle and district-wide. She was also on the committee for high school redistricting a few years ago.

Also into the political field is Allan Polak of Valley Run, in southern Durham, who is challenging incumbent Mike Woodard for the Ward 3 council seat.

Polak is owner of Noah, an IT company with offices in Chapel Hill.

County commissioner Joe Bowser is supporting Donald Hughes's bid for the City Council, but he sounds like he has City Hall ambitions of his own.

Bowser told Bull's Eye this morning he's having his own press conference Friday, and that he will be at the Board of Election office that day — last day to file for the council or mayor's election this fall.

That was all he had to say this morning. 

Bowser regained a seat on the Durham County Board of Commissioners last year, after losing a re-election campaign in 2004. Since Bowser resides in the city's Ward 2, if he runs for a council seat he would be a fourth challenger for incumbent Howard Clement, who has held a council seat since 1983. 

Donald Hughes filed for election to the City Council's Ward 1 seat this morning, accompanied by about 20 supporters who included his mother, former council and school board member Jackie Wagstaff, and county commisssioner Joe Bowser.

"Win, lose or draw, may the campaign bring you joy," elections director Mike Ashe said when Hughes had signed the requisite papers and paid his $188.35 filing fee (below).

Hughes is challenging incumbent Cora Cole-McFadden, who defeated Wagstaff's council re-election bid in 2001.

"I'm focusing on my own campaign," Cole-McFadden said, speaking by telephone from New York, where she is attending the NAACP convention.

Before going to the Board of Elections to file, Hughes opened his campaign with a rally on Alston Avenue, across from Eastway Elementary School (above).

"This election is about inspiring Durham," he said, recalling his own inspiration as an Eastway pupil when a then-council member Cynthia Brown spoke to his class about community participation.

A May graduate of UNC Greensboro, Hughes said his campaign will take full advantage of technologies such as Facebook and Twitter with which he and his contemporaries have grown up.

"It is now our time," he said.