Photo by philliefan99.

Once the debris clears after the September 14 Democratic primary, one thing will be clear: this year’s mayoral election may very well end up being one of the most expensive in District history. Most of that is due to Mayor Adrian Fenty’s prodigious fundraising, which has seen the incumbent take in over $4.6 million, compared to challenger Vince Gray’s $1.3 million.

But what the heck is all that money being spent on? Sure, there’s campaign staff, yard signs, advertising, and the such. But Fenty’s campaign has also been shelling out money for an army of canvassers, the very folks that walk District neighborhoods with literature, hang campaign signs, gather outside mayoral forums, and so on.

According to campaign finance reports released on August 10, the Fenty campaign went on something of a spending spree during the two-month summer reporting period. Fenty’s campaign spent $1.8 million, the majority of which went to advertising — including a set of six 15-second TV ads touting his accomplishments and ability to deliver results. Of his 357-page campaign finance report, 227 pages list operating expenses. Vince Gray’s campaign, on the other hand, only had 64 pages of expenses totaling just under $400,000 in a 524-page report.

Of Fenty’s large outlay, around $800,000 went to staff and canvassers — lots of them. On August 2, for example, the campaign paid 183 canvassers anywhere from $50 to $1,450 — over $70,000 in all. Similarly large payouts were made on June 21 and July 20, listed on the report as “salary/stipend.”

Fenty’s prior campaign finance report, which covered the three months from March 11 to June 10, showed comparatively few “salary/stipend” payments. In fact, during that period, Fenty’s campaign only spent $336,000, mostly because Gray only jumped in the race in late April.