RALEIGH - An incumbent and two challengers running for the Raleigh City Council each raised more than $20,000 during the four-week campaign finance reporting period that ended Sept. 24.

Those amounts far outpaced the efforts of six of the 11 candidates running in contested races.

Mary-Ann Baldwin, the marketing director for Stewart Engineering who is running for one of two at-large seats on the council, continues to raise more money than her opponents. Between Aug. 29 and Sept. 24 Baldwin raised $23,280, bringing her total this election season to $82,505, according to reports filed with the Wake County Board of Elections.

Baldwin, who has spent all but $6,129 of the money she has raised, has received more than a third of it from people with ties to real estate and development, including engineers, architects and brokers.

Money, specifically real estate money, has become an issue in the races for the four contested seats on the council. The latest campaign finance reports show that people in real estate and development continue to give generously to several candidates.

The most surprising finance report came from Paul Anderson, a Baptist minister who is among the six candidates running for at-large seats. Anderson's collections surged to $23,108 during the most recent reporting period, nearly $10,000 more than he had raised during the previous eight months.

Anderson's most recent donor list includes retiring at-large Raleigh council member Joyce Kekas, U.S. Reps. David Price and Brad Miller, and the N.C. Home Builders Association, a political action committee that gave the candidate $4,000.

Russ Stephenson, the lone at-large incumbent running, has raised $55,212 this election season, including $13,303 during the most recent reporting period.

District A incumbent Tommy Craven raised $21,391 during the most recent reporting period, bringing his election-year total to $59,858. Craven has received nearly $39,000 from people with ties to the real estate and development community.

Craven's challenger, Nancy McFarlane, raised $5,615 during the latest period.

District B incumbent Jessie Taliaferro raised $16,750, bringing her total to $32,404. Taliaferro has received more than $15,000 from people with ties to the real estate and development community. Her two challengers are Angel Menendez and Rodger Koopman, who raised more than half of his $19,359 total during the most recent reporting period.

Council members Thomas Crowder, Philip Isley and James West and Mayor Charles Meeker are all running unopposed.