Notes from this month’s meeting of the city’s Central Democratic Committee show a sharp divide over a contribution the group made to Mayor Francis Slay.

Slay is, of course, a Democrat, and faces re-election next spring. Though nobody yet has emerged to contest him in the March primary, that doesn’t mean he has uniform support among the city’s Democratic Party.

Tension emerged at the August 12 meeting when committee members asked chair Brian Wahby about a $13,000 donation to Slay’s re-election committee, made without the consent of the full committee.

Wahby defended  the donation, saying the committee’s campaign fund was only being used as a “pass through” for another donor.

As a political party, the city Dems have less restrictions on giving to candidates than traditional campaign committees and, as such, can be used as go-between for candidates.

The Dems campaign committee report shows a $15,000 contribution from the “Show Me Pac,” which could be the source of the original funds intended for Slay.

“We have moved money for a number of candidates,” Wahby said, according to an unofficial copy of the minutes.

But State Sen. Maida Coleman, committeewoman from Wahby’s ward, the Seventh,  suggested it wasn’t so much the method, but the individual supported that irked members.

“I think the issue is due to the candidate and the fact that not all of the body supports that candidate. For instance, Francis Slay,” Coleman said, according to the minutes. “Automatically, this insults half of the organization.”

Recorder of Deeds Sharon Carpenter — who represents what was, until he moved recently, Slay’s home ward — said funneling donations for candidates was fair so long as the committee did it for anyone who asked.

“As long as we don’t turn down anyone,” Carpenter said.

But committee member Mike McMillan – the city’s license collector whose name is at the top of the list of potential Slay rivals — said he wasn’t even aware that the city’s central committee could be used as a fundraising tool.

“ <!– @page { size: 8.5in 11in; margin: 0.79in } P { margin-bottom: 0.08in } –”As a citywide candidate,” McMillan said, “I never knew this could be done.”

In some ways, the discussion is moot, because the state’s cap on campaign contribution limits will soon be repealed, eliminating the need for creative finances.

The debate, though, certainly brings up larger issues about party support for Slay as he seeks a third term.