ST. PETERSBURG -- Mayoral hopeful Bill Foster raised almost a quarter of a million dollars in his bid to become the city's next mayor, a record figure that easily outpaces the previous record set by Mayor Rick Baker during the 2001 mayoral race.

Throughout the campaign, Foster raised a total of $248,802, besting Baker's general election record of $225,846.

To date, Foster has spent $214.042.72. In the final two weeks of fundraising, he raised $41,960.

In comparison, rival Kathleen Ford raised $15,971, bringing her final total to $82,459.76. Her campaign spent $61,093.14 overall.

Other fundraising totals:

In the District 2 City Council race, council member Jim Kennedy raised $5,277 and loaned himself $3,200. Overall, he raised a total of $29,167.24 and spent $28,716.01. Rival Stephen Corsetti collected $1,495 during the last fundraising period and raised $9,000 total. He spent $8,301.07.

In the District 4 race, council member Leslie Curran raised $400. In total, she earned $10,175 and spent $3,129.75. Pamella Settlegoode raised $595. Overall, she collected $3,882 and spent $3,268.67.

In the District 5 race, social worker Steve Kornell and Angela Rouson had not submitted reports as of Monday afternoon.

In the District 6 race, council member Karl Nurse gathered $17,995 over the past two weeks. He raised a total of $60,561.03 and spent $58,479.94. City Hall did not have a copy of rival Vel Thompson's report as of Monday afternoon.

In the District 8 race, neither council member Jeff Danner nor consultant Leonard Schmiege had turned in their reports as of Monday afternoon.

Cristina Silva, Times Staff Writer

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