The Tulsa World did a finance story over the weekend about the campaign, and got some answers to questions we’ve been wondering about ourselves.
They noticed that Baker has lost money on his furniture business, but still managed to loan himself $155,000. Baker told the World that he was “plowing a good portion of my lifetime profits into trying to serve the Cherokee people.”
That’s the first time we’ve heard a peep from Baker about how he’s paying for the election, so many thanks to the World for getting Baker on the record. The World also solved the mystery of how Baker’s income is less than his actual council salary. They say “much of his $36,000 council-member salary is withheld for tax purposes or goes directly into a retirement fund.”
Smith has loaned himself $40,000, which we’ve covered before as well. He says that money comes from a loan. He tells the World: "For my adult years, I've worked hard, paid my taxes and provided for my family. I do not have the means to self-fund my campaign."
So it looks like both candidates are betting the farm on this one. The stakes are not just high for the Nation, but for the candidates themselves, which may be a contributing factor in the high emotions surrounding this election.
