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By Olivia Lloyd

Virginia legislators last year spent about $7.3 million from their campaign funds, on items ranging from political consulting and office equipment to bumper stickers and picture frames.

The 140 members of the General Assembly spent an average of about $52,000 each to spread their message to -- and maintain the support of -- prospective voters.

Getting elected, after all, is expensive. Just ask the statewide officeholders.

"There are 2 million potential voters you need to reach and educate across the state about your candidate’s positions," Ken Hutcheson, Attorney General Jerry Kilgore’s campaign manager, told the Richmond Times-Dispatch. "Without television or radio, there’s no way to reach all those people."

Lisa McMurray, Lt. Gov. Tim Kaine’s chief of staff, agreed that candidates must spend money to win hearts and minds. "You just can’t shake enough hands and meet enough people in the time allotted for the campaign."

Legislators get their campaign funds largely from political supporters -- individuals and groups. There’s no way to run a political campaign on a legislative salary alone. (Members of the House of Delegates are paid a mere $18,000 a year for their services.)

How do lawmakers spend those campaign donations? Legislative Reporting students at Virginia Commonwealth University found out by analyzing campaign-finance data compiled by the nonprofit Virginia Public Access Project.

Legislators spent about 42 percent of their money on advertising. The No. 1 expenditure was direct mail and graphic design, which cost lawmakers $2.2 million last year. They also spent about $403,000 on television and radio, $242,000 on signs and bumper stickers, $120,000 on newspaper ads and $37,000 on the Internet.

Although television can be quite costly, digital editing of ads allows campaigns to quickly create tailor-made spots for different TV markets. Broadcast commercials also are used in attack campaigns against competing candidates.

After direct mail and graphic design came political consulting: General Assembly members paid political consultants about $610,000 in 2001. They spent an additional $153,000 on polling, and about $23,000 on lists of voters, presumably to contact them.

"It’s all gotten so professional -- professional campaign staffs, media firms that handle all the printing," said Delegate Marian Van Landingham, D-Alexandria.

The role of consultants has evolved over the years as the methods of advertising and promoting oneself have grown to encompass such media as the Internet. In many cases, consultants organize much of a candidate’s campaign, from updating polling techniques to dealing with the media.

Legislators last year also spent a chunk of money on fund-raising events ($420,000) and on events involving food and catering ($183,000).

Lawmakers use the donations they get to make contributions themselves. In 2001, they used their campaign funds to make about $1.2 million in political donations and $168,000 in donations to community groups, single-interest groups and community goodwill.

Campaign office-related expenses also added up -- to more than $800,000. That included $381,000 legislators spent on campaign staff salaries, $141,000 on phone service, $109,000 on office rent, $88,000 on office supplies, $87,000 on computer hardware and software and $29,000 on office equipment.

At the other end of the scale, a relative pittance was spent on some categories of expenditures.

Legislators last year spent less than $7,000 to frame resolutions passed by the General Assembly. These resolutions often commemorate a person or group from a lawmaker’s district; some legislators frame the resolutions and present them to the people being honored.

General Assembly members spent about $7,500 going to conventions, conferences and other trips, and about $3,200 on membership dues.

Lawmakers who ran afoul of rules laid down by the State Board of Elections used their campaign funds for another purposes: They spent $710 to pay fines levied by the board.

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