SPS school board candidates to air at least 616 TV campaign ads through April 2 election

Note: Story updated to clarify the amount Maryam Mohammadkhani paid for the TV campaign advertising and to add new details about the ads that will run by Landon McCarter.

Through April 2, it may be nearly impossible to watch KYTV for any length of time and not see a campaign ad for one of the Springfield school board candidates.

Six of the seven candidates on the ballot — all vying for three open seats — have completed contracts to air their 30-second ads in the days before the election.

Collectively, the six plan to spend $190,000 for 616 spots, based on the contracts uploaded to the station's public inspection file by Monday.

Of the spots,111 will air during the first couple of days of April.

They are primarily running during local news broadcasts, the NBC Today Show, talk shows such as Kelly Clarkson and Wheel of Fortune.

None of the campaign advertisements have been negative. All have touted the priorities and endorsements of the candidates.

The largest contract belonged to incumbent Scott Crise, vice president of the board. He is the manager of gas plant operations for Associated Electric Cooperative Inc.

The campaign ads for Crise, who will spend $45,000 for 138 spots, started March 19.

That same day, ads started for incumbent Danielle Kincaid, president of the board. She is an attorney and a partner with the Elder Law Group.

Kincaid has agreed to spend $40,000 for 126 spots.

The contract for Susan Provance, a first-time candidate, is nearly identical to Kincaid's approach. She is also paying $40,000 for 126 spots.

Provance is a retired Springfield teacher and coach who currently helps lead the district's archery program.

A political action committee, United Springfield, donated $20,000 each to Crise, Kincaid and Provance that was just earmarked for TV commercials. In a campaign disclosure report filed in late February, as required, the PAC reported raising $120,992.

The leadership of the PAC said it did not plan to provide any additional funds to the three during this election.

The ads for incumbent Maryam Mohammadkhani, a retired pathologist, were slated to start March 22. She paid $27,370 for 99 spots.

Chad Rollins, a pharmacist and director of operations for Health Direct in Ozark, is running for the second year. His contract was $24,402 for 71 spots, which start March 25.

Rollins had only raised $12,305, as of the campaign disclosure report filed in late February. On March 19, he reported a $20,000 donation from developer Curtis Jared.

The next round of campaign reports were due Monday. The Missouri Ethics Commission requires donations of $5,000 or more to be reported within 48 hours, which Rollins did, and then included as part of the next regularly scheduled report.

Kyler Sherman-Wilkins, an associate professor of sociology at Missouri State University, said Friday that he does not plan to run TV ads. Instead, he told the News-Leader he was "going for a more targeted approach."

Reached by phone Friday, candidate Landon McCarter said there is a chance he will spend money on TV ads.

McCarter, a business owner and entrepreneur running for the second year, later entered a contract to run 56 campaign ads, starting March 26, at a cost of more than $15,000.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: 6 Springfield school board candidates spend $190K* on TV campaign ads