When Lewis Reed loaned his campaign more than $85,000 of his own money last year, he was essentially betting on himself to beat incumbent Board President Jim Shrewsbury.

The gamble paid off - Reed pulled off an improbably victory - but now his campaign is left holding the nut.

In an attempt to peck away at the debt, Reed hosted a modest music fundraiser, charging $25 a head for “jazzing up” with Reed.

The March 19 fundraiser helped Reed raise about $25,000 for the quarter. Perhaps more interesting,though, is the guest list for the event, recorded on Reed’s Ethics Commission filing, which shows Reed has attracted a diverse, if not eclectic, following.

Supporters at the fundraiser, held in Reed’s old stomping ground of Lafayette Square, included: State Senate hopeful Joan Barry; chief city Judge Margaret Walsh; city Assessor Ed Bushmeyer; attorney Jerry Hunter, a prominent Republican; tourism czarina Kitty Ratcliffe; former School Board member Amy Hilgemann; Fire Chief Dennis Jenkerson; State Rep. Connie Johnson; and former Comptroller Virvus J. Jones.

Also in attendance was Shelley Donaho, the Compton Heights resident who stirred a row a few years when her son’s crocodile monitor escaped. That’s not to be confused with Chris Molitor, head of the firefighters’ union, who was also at the Reed event.

On a more somber note, David C. Sorden, the lobbyist who killed himself while federal agents were at his door, was listed as being at the fundraiser, too.

Reed: Friends help pay down debt