All three of Roswell’s mayoral candidates are now raising sufficient money to be competitive. What is interesting is how their individual fundraisers reflect their vastly different personalities.

Wood: The Party

For Mayor Jere Wood, it’s all about the party. He throws the best ones. My wife Anne and I had the opportunity to attend his “Roast the Mayor” fundraiser on Wednesday night and it was downright hilarious. Held at his late mother’s cabin style home on Stroup Road, Wood had a nice turnout - about 100 or so. His friends took turns “roasting him” as his guests were treated to some great barbecue. The show was a hoot, and rather than conclude with a “campaign speech,” Wood unveiled a new mock campaign slogan for his re-election (sorry, it’s off the record) that had my wife and I laughing for the next three days. From a pure entertainment standpoint, Wood’s fundraisers are quite a show. We get in for free, too, as the press, so its all the better. Wood is having way too much fun in this election cycle and it translates into his demeanor.

Tolleson: The Food

David Tolleson had a huge fundraiser on Sunday, hosted by Nancy Alvine. We asked to attend, but got turned down. Reports from supporters say Tolleson drew about 150 guests. We were disappointed we didn’t get to go because the Tolleson events have the best food. It’s like eating a sampling of the prime dishes from the best chef’s around the world competing in some sort of galactic cook-off. So I was bummed I didn’t get to go. From the horizontal sphere of my mid-section, it’s evident I am no stranger to the fork.

We heard he raised a fortune at the event. Tolleson’s fundraising events are huge, buttoned down, tightly scripted and very social.

Ever the enterprising candidate, we understand that Tolleson is now selling cookbooks that represent the recipes of his famous campaign fundraiser food. I might have to buy one and give it to my wife. Or maybe I’ll just disguise myself as an East Roswell resident, put on some Centennial High School garb, pull a Knight’s baseball cap down over my eyes and crash the next one. I can grab some goodies, and then sneak out the back door before they start talking about building consensuses on the consensus from the consensus. It could be a win-win.

Henry: The Coffee

Lori Henry takes a much different approach. She prefers to hold smaller gatherings, called “coffees” in supporter’s homes. She does a lot of them, and they are much more intimate, where she can talk one on one to voters and take the personal approach, which is her over-riding strength. So Henry is diligently working her coffees and raising money the old fashioned way: asking for it herself, one supporter at a time. It reflects her dogged and determined style.

Truth be told, I love coffee, and especially the desert that goes with it, so I often try to weasel my way in to her events when I can. Because they are small gatherings, I can hawk Beacon subscriptions while I’m at it. But there is one intimidating factor. Her hosts always have a variety of about 100,000 tea bags to choose from – all of which I have never heard of. I’m a New York City coffee hound. We drink coffee poured into containers bought off street vendors and drink it while standing up. I don’t do Starbucks or swivel sticks and I reject tea like a bad blood transfusion.  Before I moved to the south, I thought tea was the little stick in the ground you hit golf balls from. So I’ll stick to the coffee and brownies.