Contributors to the race for the District 3 Kitsap County Commissioner seat follow predictable patterns and party boundaries, with Democratic elected officials supporting Josh Brown, and real estate concerns supporting Republican Jack Hamilton.

Candidates must file weekly reports of their deposits. The most recent report states that Hamilton had raised $56,055 to Brown’s $42,553. Neither candidate could supply precise amounts for this week’s filing, although Brown said he thought the campaign would report $15,000 in additional monies. This would put the race on even financial ground.

Hamilton’s largest single contributor is Cascade Evergreen, a Silverdale-based partnership that gave $12,000 so far to the campaign. Silverdale Realtor Ron Ross, who heads the partnership, contributed another $4,500.

While Hamilton’s largest contributors have real estate connections, Brown’s top donors are in the software industry. The biggest chunk, $5,000, comes from Paladin Data in Poulsbo, while retired software executive Paul Brainerd gave $2,000.

Brown said that the type of contributor shows a difference between the two candidates.

“The bulk of these contributions clearly means that the contributors are interested in putting polices in place that favor developers,” he said. “I am glad to have the support of local businesses like Paladin — it shows my support of education and the community.”

Hamilton said his contributors have no expectations or influence on his behavior.

“They just expect good government,” he said. “If someone thinks that I am being bought, it means they think that an individual can be bought. Nothing I do is for sale, and my contributors know that.”

Hamilton’s contributors include two members of the Kitsap County Planning Commission, Mike Gustavson and Dean Jenniges. He also received donations from Kitsap Association of Realtors’ government affairs director Mike Eliason, former County Board of Commissioners candidate Scott Henden and Assessor candidate Kris Danielson.

Brown’s donor list includes former County Commissioner Tim Botkin, Planning Commissioner Tom Nevins, County Commissioner Chris Endresen, Auditor Karen Flynn, Bainbridge Island City Councilor Bill Knobloch, Port Orchard City Councilman Fred Chang, former County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido and Prosecuting Attorney Russ Hauge.

Early in the campaign, Brown’s opponents criticized him for receiving out-of-state contributions, saying that Californians, who should have no say in a local race, represented special interests. In fact, Brown has to-date received $2,660 in out-of-state money, which he said came from friends and family (several of them are named “Brown”).

Many of Hamilton’s contributors are affiliated with the Kitsap Alliance for Property Owners (KAPO), which supported and then abandoned incumbent County Commissioner Patty Lent. KAPO Executive Director Vivian Henderson said she doesn’t seek to control the candidate with her contribution.

“We always give a lot to support our candidates,” Henderson said. “I don’t expect anything in return. It just means that I have found a candidate who has the same values as I do. I just want them to live up to who they say they are.”