As Hamilton mayoral races go, it appears "Frugal Freddie" did it again.

Fred Eisenberger won his second consecutive term as mayor in October, despite the fact that Vito Sgro spent more than twice as much to campaign for the job.

The general spending limit for the mayoral race was $218,705.40, and $31,870.54 for "parties and other expressions of appreciation." As in three previous elections, Eisenberger spent a fraction of what he could have spent. His campaign totaled $116,536 compared to Sgro's $256,242.71.

This is according to election candidate expense reports, which are listed on the City of Hamilton website.

The fall campaigns differentiated themselves. One was flashy, the other was understated. And the numbers certainly show that.

Mayoral candidate Vito Sgro, left, canvassed with Tyler Banham, president of the Liberal Party of Canada, and Liberal MP Bob Bratina from Hamilton East-Stoney Creek. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

Sgro campaigned on an anti-LRT platform, and his "Stop the train, fix infrastructure" signs were all over the city. He also did a number of telephone town halls that by his campaign's admission reached thousands of people. (Telecommunications, polling and data services accounted for $36,528.09, according to his election expenses.) He even hired an airplane to fly a banner over the city.

Eisenberger, meanwhile, refused to debate Sgro one-on-one on the LRT issue, and only spent $19,909 on signs compared to Sgro's $22,415.04. He also held no fundraising events. Sgro held a dinner that raised $107,050.

Despite this, the incumbent received 74,093 votes, or 54.03 per cent. Sgro received 52,190 votes, or 38.06 per cent.

Here are some other highlights:

Sgro spent $90,247.26 on advertising, Eisenberger spent $29,903.

Sgro spent $24,128.42 on brochures and flyers, Eisenberger spent $15,870.

Sgro incurred $10,760.44 in office expenses on voting day, Eisenberger incurred $8,735.

Sgro spent $35,000 on salaries, benefits and honoraria leading up to voting day. Eisenberger spent nothing.

Sgro spent $21,962 on fundraising events and activities. Eisenberger spent $1,200.

Local developers and business owners often donate to the candidate they see as a potential winner. In this case, they seemed to think either had a chance.

Mayoral candidate Vito Sgro hired an airplane to fly his message on a banner over the city. (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

Big donors like entrepreneurs Ron Foxcroft and the Mercanti family (of Carmen's Group) gave to both candidates.

Also notable on Sgro's donor list: Bob Bratina, Liberal MP of Hamilton East-Stoney Creek, donated $750.

Here are some highlights from other wards.

Ward 1

This ward had no incumbent, and a spending limit of $23,504.50. Maureen Wilson won the race with 41.51 per cent of the vote. She also spent the most by far at $20,568.47. That included $3,000 to rent a campaign office.

Jason Allen came second and spent $6,290.79, and Carol Lazich third. She spent $9,113.21.

Ward 2

Ward 2 had an incumbent in the form of Jason Farr, but dollar figures show Farr had a serious challenger.

Farr returned with 46.86 per cent of the vote. Cameron Kroetsch came second with 29.99 per cent.

Their election expenses tell a story of establishment versus independent. The ward had a general spending limit of $21,878.45, and $2,187.85 for parties and other expressions of appreciation.

Farr spent $22,019.53, including $1,710.23 on items not subject to expenses. Brochures and advertising were his biggest expense. He only spent $387.33 on signs because he had $2,677.42 worth of inventory left over from his 2015 election. Several well-known development industry names appear in his list of donors.

Kroetsch went all in, spending $19,090.79, although he spent $4,576.76 on signs. He fundraised almost all his money, but no apparent developer names appear on the list.

This map shows the results of the 2018 municipal election. Areas in green largely voted for Mayor Fred Eisenberger, while areas in red largely voted for Vito Sgro. (City of Hamilton)

Ward 3

Ward 3 had no incumbent, although outgoing councillor Matthew Green strongly supported Nrinder Nann, who managed his 2015 campaign. Nann, who won the election, spent $25,798.03.

Laura Farr finished second and spent $7,685.20, while Ned Kuruc spent $21,612.06.

Nann had some expenses others didn't, like T-shirts and videography. She spent $8,902 of her own money. She also lists Green as having contributed $200.14 in Facebook advertising.

Ward 7

Ward 7 had no incumbent and a spending limit of $32,732.10.

Esther Pauls, who won, spent 14,462.10, and only $90 of it was her own money. Second place finisher Geraldine McMullen spent $17,929.91, and $10,664.91 was her own money.

Third place finisher Dan MacIntyre outspent them both, spending $24,395.38.

Ward 8

Ward 8, which had no incumbent, was one of the priciest battles. The spending limit was $24,060.40, not including expenses that weren't subject to the spending limit.

Eventual winner John-Paul Danko spent $24,571.09. That includes $4,390.27 in material left over from when he ran in a 2016 byelection. He fundraised $16,540, including some from developers. He spent $4,525 of his own money — far less than 2016, when he self-financed $15,941.41 in campaign expenses. He also did $1,447.81 in robocalls.

Danko finished with 3,752 votes, or 41.67 per cent. Eve Adams placed second with 2,097 votes, or 23.29 per cent. Adams, a former Conservative MP, had the most name recognition going into the election.

Adams spent $19,037.21, including $8,000 of her own money. Adams's signs were everywhere in the ward, and the forms show it — she spent $7,242,52 on signs.

Third place finisher Steve Ruddick spent $7,480.79, and Colleen Wicken $9,906.58.

Suresh Daljeet, Jason Farr, Cameron Kroetsch (Samantha Craggs/CBC)

Ward 13

Arlene VanderBeek retained her seat by only 866 votes. She got 3,953 compared to Rich Gelder's 3,087.

Len Medeiros, owner of L. M. Enterprises, donated $1,200 to VanderBeek's campaign. Medeiros was also behind one of her most controversial decisions of her maiden term.

Medeiros wanted the city to close part of a well-used public laneway and sell part of it to him for a dollar so he could expand his own Sydenham Road property. Despite public outcry, the city closed it and sold the property to him for $2. VanderBeek supported that.

VanderBeek contributed $2,400 herself to her campaign, and had $698.35 in sign stock left from the 2015 election.

Gelder spent $11,838.90, including $4,450 he raised at a fundraising cocktail party. Third-place finisher John Mykytyshyn hasn't submitted his election expenses, which means he can't run next time.

Judi Partridge, left, endorsed Vito Sgro for mayor. (Vito Sgro campaign)

Ward 14

This ward had no incumbent because new ward boundary lines were drawn. But Terry Whitehead, a councillor in the old Ward 8, has been on council for years and ran in Ward 14.

The spending limit was $24,576.35, and $2,457.64 for "expressions of appreciation." Whitehead spent $27,849.35. That includes $2,878.76 on items not subject to the spending limit, including $1,485.81 on "salaries, benefits, honoraria, professional fees."

The next closest challenger, Bryan Wilson, spent $4,432.86.

Ward 15

This Flamborough ward was interesting because an incumbent was nearly unseated. Judi Partridge only maintained her seat over Susan McKechnie by a little over 200 votes. Partridge got 3,471 votes compared to McKechnie's 3,255.

Partridge spent $17,652.87 and fundraised all of it. McKechnie spent $9,554.91, of which $7,134.91 was her own money.

Partridge also got a massive boost near the end of the campaign when she participated in one of Sgro's robocalls, which by his campaign's admission reached tens of thousands of homes, including in Flamborough.