The owners of the Reds and Bengals have Hamilton County Commissioner Bob Bedinghaus to thank for a football stadium being built and a baseball park on the way, but their campaign dollars couldn't save him on Election Day.

        Campaign finance reports filed Friday with the Hamilton County Board of Elections showed that a $200,000-plus TV campaign the Hamilton County GOP waged against Democrat Todd Portune in the last weeks of campaign was financed for the most part by people with a direct stake in the building of stadiums on the riverfront, projects that Mr. Bedinghaus has piloted.

        Pre-general election reports showed Reds owner Carl Lindner, who is having a $330 million ballpark built largely at taxpayers' expense, gave the party $100,000.

        Post-election reports showed contributions to the Hamilton County GOP from three others — $50,000 from Bengals president Mike Brown, $25,000 from Bengals vice president Peter Brown and $25,000 from produce executive Robert Castellini. Hamilton County paid the Castellini Family Trust $36.5 million for 24 acres of riverfront land for the Bengals stadium.

        The money went into party coffers and what came out of those coffers was a $200,000 TV ad campaign aimed at Mr. Bedinghaus' Democratic opponent.

        Mr. Bedinghaus said Friday no one should be surprised that businessmen such as the Browns, Mr. Lindner and Mr. Castellini give money to the Republican Party.

        “The Republican Party raised and spent money independently of my campaign,” Mr. Bedinghaus said.

        The theme of the anti-Portune ads was “Liberal Portune,” highlighting votes and comments made by the Democratic Cincinnati councilman, claiming he opposed teen curfews, supports gay marriages and advocated allowing “crooks” to turn in their guns for a new pair of sneakers.

        The ads ran heavily on local news broadcasts in the last two weeks of the campaign. Mr. Bedinghaus said that a week after the ads began, internal Republican polls showed that Mr. Bedinghaus had pulled ahead of Mr. Portune.

        But, on election day, Mr. Portune ended up being the first Democrat elected a Hamilton County commissioner in 36 years, taking 48 percent of the vote to 43 percent for Mr. Bedinghaus.

        In addition to the $200,000 TV ad buy from the party, Mr. Bedinghaus raised and spent $420,000 in the 2000 campaign.

        Mr. Portune, who had a Democratic primary contest in March, ended up spending $336,440.

        The Democrat used the bulk of his money to fight back with a TV ad campaign of his own — a series of “action figures” showing a toy Bedinghaus giving away taxpayers' dollars to Mike Brown and holding closed-door meetings on stadium matters.

        The Bedinghaus-Portune contest received the most attention, but there was a second county commission race, where incumbent Republican John Dowlin defeated Democrat Joe Wolterman with 56 percent of the vote.

        Spending in that race was fairly even. Campaign finance reports showed Mr. Dowlin with $120,428 while Mr. Wolterman had $115,740. Mr. Dowlin did not get the kind of financial support from the GOP that Mr. Bedinghaus did.

Neyer can't vote for arts funding
Killer, family fight over money
Prosecutor candidates spent big
RAMSEY: How we learn
Salvation Army sees donations nose-dive
Coffee in face sends would-be bank robber fleeing
Kings schools look for private donations
Daiker quits as party chief in Butler Co.
Interim leaders to stay at MRDD
Astronauts land for visit
MCNUTT: Oxford clock
A Christmas not as bright
A.J. Cohen remembered: Happy, helpful, intelligent
AC Nielsen Co. moving jobs to Covington
Bengals keep deadline for seat relocation
Charity begins, grows at home
Cincinnati empowerment zones to get $10M
Driver lied on license, charges say
Fairfield selling bricks for memorial
Levy backers' victory was expensive
N. Ky. woman found killed in her home
New Hustler store opens 9 hours late
NKU receives nursing grant
Owners generous in election
Toys, treats a tradition
Whooping cough hitting students
Tristate A.M. Report