As the Starkville municipal election approaches in May, two candidates reported raising campaign funds in 2016.
Democratic mayoral candidate Lynn Spruill and Ward 2 alderman candidate Sanda Sistrunk both raised campaign funds last year and filed the receipts and expenditures ahead of the deadline last Tuesday.
Spruill received $8,342.20 in contributions in 2016 - $7,092.20 of which was contributed personally by Spruill to her own campaign.
"I'm very appreciative of people that would jump right in early because we didn't announce until December," Spruill said in an interview with the SDN. "So, I was gratified that I had some folks that were supporting me very quickly and I've had some I know, some I don't know, who are very supportive."
The first official campaign finance report is due on April 25 and will highlight receipts and expenditures from Jan. 1 through April 22.
Spruill's biggest outside contributor in 2016 was Mississippi State University lecturer Monika Jankun-Kelly, who kicked in $1,000 toward Spruill's mayoral bid.
In terms of expenditures, Spruill has been focused on marketing. Campaign finance records show $1,800 was paid out to Adrian Marcus for website development, while $2,078 was spent with Precision Signz in Bettendorf, Iowa.
"If I decided this is what I wanted to do, then you take the necessary steps to get it going, and the two big items were yard signs and a website," she said.
A retired naval officer and pilot, Spruill chose blue and gold as the colors for her campaign signs to reflect her military background.
Spruill is set to face off against local attorney Johnny Moore and Mississippi Army National Guard veteran Damion Poe in the Democratic primary. No Republicans have qualified for the mayoral race as of Wednesday.
Sistrunk raised a little over $2,000 in 2016 and will head into the campaign season with approximately that much in her campaign coffers. She previously served as the Ward 2 alderman from 2009 to 2013.
"People have been very generous so far financially and supporting me in other ways and I am looking forward to the more active parts, like visiting with folks in the Ward and meeting them personally," Sistrunk said in an interview with the SDN on Wednesday.
Sistrunk will look to defeat Ward 2 Alderman Lisa Wynn, who defeated Sistrunk in a 2013 runoff election in the Democratic primary.
"I'm very excited about this election and the choices the city of Starkville has," she said. "It's a good slate of candidates and a real opportunity for the city to continue to build on the success we've had and continue with the growth we've seen."