A sweeping proposal emerges

by: simonstl

Tue Jan 05, 2010 at 10:01:04 AM EST

There seems to be a rule in Albany that the loudest proponents of reform are those with the least effective power. In a new twist, though, that position seems currently held by Governor Paterson, who is now proposing a more thorough reform package than I've heard from anyone else so far:

While bills to create public financing have passed the Assembly many times, the expanded ethics oversight and term limits are expected to be a difficult sell in both houses of the Legislature, which has been slow to consider tougher ethics laws...

The legislation would effectively dismantle Albany's existing campaign finance system, in which corporations and labor unions deposit millions of dollars into central housekeeping accounts controlled by party leaders, who then use that money to finance individual candidates, making rank-and-file lawmakers dependent on the leaders.

Perhaps most controversially, Mr. Paterson will propose limiting statewide officials - the governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general, and comptroller - to two four-year terms each, while members of the Legislature would be permitted six two-year terms. Such a change would require an amendment to the State Constitution.

Mr. Paterson is also including in his package a proposal he made last year to centralize ethics enforcement... The new commission would also have the legal authority to refer criminal and civil cases to the attorney general.

Why all this? Why now, after it seemed Paterson had moved such things to the back burner?

Mr. Paterson is pushing for the overhaul at a time when his efforts to guide New York through its worst fiscal crisis in generations have been thwarted by a powerful and well-financed alliance of state lawmakers, public employee unions and health care interests.

I'd be happy to see these proposals pass, even though I have serious doubts about term limits. I find the absence of proposals for better financial disclosure (or simply a full-time legislature, no moonlighting allowed) to be strange, though supposedly something's coming on that front.

Will it make a difference, even an incremental difference? It's hard to say. I suspect something will come out of it, but something seriously watered down. Paterson has more issues than just reform to deal with, and with everything likely in the same negotiating pot... well...

Good luck, Governor Paterson! (I haven't said that very often lately, but mean it here.)

NY-19: Greg Ball Accused of Campaign Finance Violations

by: jmcbride

Sat Oct 03, 2009 at 12:15:02 PM EDT

It seems that Greg Ball just is unable to keep from cheating. In Mr. Ball's world, the rules just don't apply to him. Poughkeepsie Journal

The complaint alleges the Mr. Ball directly or through a failure to supervise his staff has violated numerous campaign finance laws. Mr. Ball solicited and accepted campaign contributions from corporations. He solicited funds in excess of the contribution limits. He did a round of robo-calls (don't you love getting those?), without announcing who paid for the calls or approved the message, also a violation of campaign finance laws.

There's more

Campaign Finance Bills Now Available for Markup on Senate Website

by: Roatti

Thu May 21, 2009 at 13:05:24 PM EDT

Bill Draft: Clean Election System (0 comments)
Bill Draft: Hybrid Matching System with Grants(0 comments)
Bill Draft: Matching System with "Triggers"(0 comments)
Bill S5546(Addabbo): Limiting Candidates to One Campaign Committee per Election (0 comments)
Bill 5545 (Addabbo): Disclosure of Occupation, Employer and Business Address of Contributors(0 comments)
Bill S5565 (Addabbo): Disclosure of Bundling by "Intermediaries" (0 comments)
Bill S4061B (Schneiderman): Increasing Penalties for Campaign Finance Violations (0 comments)

I suggest y'all take a look at the bills and let our elected representatives know what you think of them!

Gillibrand: Use $$$ to scare off opponents

by: Hudson

Tue Mar 03, 2009 at 13:15:04 PM EST

In her latest email pitch, Kirsten overtly suggests that by raising lots of money, she can deter others from challenging her in the upcoming primary:

This is an incredibly important event for my first quarter and the 2010 election. The political calculations of my opponents will be made based on the support I show this quarter.

As a lifelong Democrat who believes that campaign finance issues are a root cause of our political problems, this is not exactly my idea of how the democratic system should work, or how reform-minded Democrats should talk to supporters.

Quid Pro Quo? Senate Republicans Got Campaign Money, Company Got Lease

by: robert.harding

Mon Mar 02, 2009 at 09:42:07 AM EST

Dicker's piece is a good starting point, but here is what the piece is lacking.

Starting on January 1, 2003, Omni Management Group LTD received a lease totaling $7,916,534.58. The contract runs out at the end of 2011, so the length and price of the contract is quite substantial.

But Omni Development, which Omni Management Group, Ltd. is a part of, has been a gracious donor to the New York State Senate Republicans over the years.

- A search for "Omni Development" in the Board of Elections campaign finance database finds that "Omni Development Company" gave $64,375.00 to the Senate Republicans from August 2000 to December 2007. "Omni Development Company" also contributed $3,500 to Sen. Joe Bruno's campaign fund from February 1999 to January 2004.

- A search for "Omni Management" finds that Omni Management Group, Ltd. gave $51,975.00 to the Senate Republicans from 2001 to 2007. In addition, Omni Management Group also gave $583.34 to the state Republican Party and $2,000 to Sen. Bruno's campaign committee.

- A search for "Omni Housing Development" finds that Omni Housing Development made 12 contributions to the New York State Senate Republican Committee totaling $58,350.00.

- In addition to the three groups that are under Omni's name, two of Omni's top officers - David Swawite and Richard Zipes - also made contributions to the Senate Republicans. Swawite made a $30,000 contribution on Oct. 31, 2002 and Zipes made a $30,000 contribution on Oct. 31, 2002 - the same day as Swawite's. Swawite is the President and COO of Omni and  Zipes is the Chairman and CEO of Omni.

Both men making $30,000 contributions on the same day a mere two months before their $7.9 million moneymaker went into effect.

If you think this is shady, you would be correct. There is plenty wrong with this and just the appearance of impropriety can be worse than actual impropriety.  

Attack On Massa Distracts From Real Debate: Clean Money/Clean Elections

by: robert.harding

Sun Feb 22, 2009 at 09:54:03 AM EST

But Massa has faced attacks from the NRCC and the media, who sees Massa's actions as hypocritical. Of course, the media's coverage of this is hypocritical.

Today, Congressman Massa wrote an op-ed in the Democrat and Chronicle that slams the D & C's coverage of his change of heart.

They did not want to write about the four years that I ran for Congress without taking a single penny from corporate special interests.

I don't know of any other members of Congress who did this. They never weighed in on the challenge involved in winning a fight with one hand tied behind my back. They never weighed in on the fact that I have always supported Clean Money/Clean Election reforms to eliminate high-dollar contributions from elections.

We are in the worst recession since the Great Depression. Last month, 598,000 Americans lost their jobs, but the Democrat and Chronicle would rather focus on taking shots at me without presenting a balanced or thoughtful approach to the real issues facing Americans.

Of course, these same media outlets will never write editorials in support of a measure that will erase the need for any candidates, including Massa, to accept high-dollar donations and to turn to wealthy contributors for money. Instead of slamming Massa, the D & C and other media outlets should be slamming the system, while also writing in support of clean money, clean elections.

Clean Money/Clean Elections (CMCE) would create a system that would publicly finance elections. Publicly funded elections would create a level playing field and would eliminate the need to turn to high-dollar donors, corporations and PACs to fund campaigns.

Congressman Eric Massa is a supporter of CMCE, but that has been ignored in these attacks. The NRCC attacks Massa, yet they have always accepted corporate contributions and their own candidates they peddle out to the public accept corporate contributions. If the NRCC has a problem with corporate contributions, they should look at themselves. They are part of the problem, not the solution.

The Republicans and the media can attack Massa, but that will do nothing to address a problem that many candidates face. It is a nice talking point during an election to say that your opponent accepts money from corporations. But if you aren't doing anything about corporations giving money to candidates, then you are also part of the problem.

It is time we have a real debate on this issue and force our state and federal government to change the ways campaign finance impacts elections. The attacks on Massa should be what ignites a serious debate about these reforms and what we should do going forward.

NY-Gov: Paterson Raises Nearly $3.6 Million

by: robert.harding

Thu Jan 15, 2009 at 18:56:49 PM EST

Governor Paterson's campaign finance filing shows that Paterson raised nearly $3.6 million during the last six months and has nearly $4.9 million cash on hand.

Here is a breakdown of his filing:

CONTRIBUTIONS: $3,598,653.17
MISC. RECEIPTS: $85,190.74
TOTAL RECEIPTS: $3,683,843.91
EXPENSES: $1,812,039.69
CASH ON HAND: $4,888,229.66

These numbers are impressive. Raising $3.6 million in six months is no easy task, so if Paterson can keep raising money at that rate, he is going to be very difficult to primary in 2010.  

The Bloomberg 29

by: Dan Jacoby

Sun Oct 26, 2008 at 22:02:09 PM EDT

I'd also love to hear comments on the Bronx and Brooklyn races, as I'm less familiar with the politics involved. My initial views on the Manhattan/Queens folks:

Comrie -- Probably not vulnerable, unless someone can raise a bundle.
Dickens -- Got 28% in an eight-way race in 2005. Coalescing behind one opponent, funded with upper west side money, and she's vulnerable.
Gerson -- Margaret Chin might give him a run, especially since she's already gearing up for next year anyway.
Jackson -- Probably not vulnerable (of course, this leaves Denny Farrell stuck in Albany for another four years).
Katz -- Probably not vulnerable.
Martinez -- Just lost a bid for Assembly against his mentor, and Ydonis Rodriguez has already raised $30K.
Quinn -- If the potential candidates for next year can coalesce around one strong candidate, they probably still can't beat her, but it will be a helluva fight.
Sanders -- Wild card. Seven candidates have filed, but nobody's raised much.
Sears -- The most vulnerable in Queens; look for Danny Dromm to give her a huge fight.
Vallone -- Not vulnerable. Mike Gianaris will remain in Albany.
White -- Would Allan Jennings try to get his old seat back, the way White did? How about Albert Baldeo again? Seriously, he's probably not vulnerable

SD-56: Dollinger Vs. Robach Financial Figures To Date

by: robert.harding

Sat Oct 25, 2008 at 14:14:55 PM EDT

In the figurative sense, this race is tight. There is one interesting factor in this race though. If you look at the chart below, you will see that Dollinger has considerably more individual donors than Robach does. Robach leaned more on unions that have been friendly to Republicans, PACs and party committees for his money. Both candidates have also received a considerable amount of their money from transfers in by their respective state senate or state party committees. Take a look at the chart below:

Rick Dollinger's filings

Joe Robach's filings

56th Senate District Total Financial Figures (Six Filings)
Rick Dollinger (D)	Sen. Joe Robach (R)
Category		Amount	Percentage	Category		Amount	Percentage
Individuals		$311,140	38%	Individuals		$95,193	13%
Corporate		$26,350	3%	Corporate		$7,050	1%
Other		$102,114	13%	Other		$298,350	41%
In-Kind*		$42,318.82	0%	In-Kind		$0	0%
Transfers In		$364,200	45%	Transfers In		$325,300	45%
Loans		$12,500	1%	Loans		$0	0%
Expenditure/Refunds		$0	0%	Expenditure/Refunds*		$1,350	0%
TOTALS		$816,304.00	100%	TOTALS		$725,893.00	100%
EXPENDITURES		$748,077.24	EXPENDITURES		$729,791.14
CASH ON HAND		$110,635.58	CASH ON HAND		$181,460.45

Just a quick note: You will notice asterisks next to Dollinger's "In-Kind" money and Robach's Expenditure/Refunds section. The In-Kind payments made to Dollinger were listed as expenses in his filings because they were used to pay staff working on Dollinger's campaign. The refund listed in Robach's section was a total of two contributions that were refunded back to two different groups.

There is going to be plenty of money spent on this race in the coming days. I was told by someone involved in the race a number of months ago that this race would see both candidates spent $1 million. It's looking like they will come close or possibly exceed that number.

ON THE WEB:

Rick Dollinger's ActBlue Page

SD-61: Financial Figures For Mesi, Ranzenhofer

by: robert.harding

Sat Oct 25, 2008 at 00:47:52 AM EDT

Joe Mesi's filings

Mike Ranzenhofer's filings

61st Senate District Total Financial Figures (Six Filings)
Joe Mesi (D)	Mike Ranzenhofer (R)
Category		Amount	Percentage	Category		Amount	Percentage
Individuals		$187,246	22%	Individuals		$157,199	15%
Corporate		$30,505	4%	Corporate		$106,055	10%
Other		$200,222	24%	Other		$99,275	10%
In-Kind		$22,311.46	3%	In-Kind		$9,995.52	1%
Transfers In		$334,740	40%	Transfers In		$676,542.63	64%
Loans		$55,000	7%	Loans		$0	0%
Expenditure Refunds		$123.41	0%	Expenditure Refunds		$0	0%
TOTALS		$830,147.87	100%	TOTALS		$1,049,067.15	100%
EXPENDITURES		$633,724.78	EXPENDITURES		$720,124.98
CASH ON HAND		$196,423.09	CASH ON HAND		$328,942.17

A few things here: Ranzenhofer has received plenty of help from the SRCC. His fundraising is balanced among individuals, corporations and "other" sources. But the help he has received from the party is enormous.

The most money Mesi has received has also come from the party, but he has also shown an ability to raise money. That will be good down the stretch when spending money will be a priority. It's nice to know that if you need money, you can go out and get it.

This is a tight race. More money will be poured into this one from both sides. The Republicans are clearly invested in this race. They want to keep it almost to the point of being desperate to keep it. In reality, this seat could decide which way the New York State Senate swings. It's going to be fun to watch over these next ten days.

ON THE WEB:

Joe Mesi's ActBlue Page

Senate Filings At A Glance

by: robert.harding

Tue Oct 07, 2008 at 17:23:46 PM EDT

The 32 day pre-general campaign finance filing deadline came and went. Here is a look at the numbers from the filings that have been posted over the last few days.

NEW YORK STATE SENATE RACES
SD-3: Democratic challenger Brian Foley had $303,966.73 in receipts for the period while Republican opponent Sen. Caesar Trunzo had $439,120.90 in receipts, spent $333,860.29 and has $358,666.80 cash on hand. Foley has $179,185.67 after spending $294,120.34 this period.

SD-15: Joseph Addabbo, the Democrat challenging Republican Serph Maltese, has more cash on hand than his opponent ($216,178.44 to $89,874.28) but Maltese did bring in more money ($541,268.13 in receipts) and spent plenty of it ($588,501.28 in expenditures). Think Maltese and the Republicans are nervous? The money being invested in that race shows that they are.

SD-56: This is a race to watch because a lot of money has been spent already and a lot of money will be spent all the way to November 4. Democratic candidate Rick Dollinger brought in $444,005.03 this period and spent $415,521.21. By comparison, Sen. Joe Robach (Dollinger's Republican opponent) had $326,486.00 in receipts and spent $427,125.25. Those numbers leave both candidates with close cash on hand figures. Dollinger has $176,142.30 cash on hand while Robach has $169,409.70.

SD-61: Republican Mike Ranzenhofer has more cash on hand ($146,746.25) but Democratic challenger Joe Mesi did have more receipts ($140,250.00 to Ranzenhofer's $67,743.84). Ranzenhofer spent slightly more than Mesi during the period ($106,299.56 to $97,044.81). This race is a close one. Mesi can pull it out, so the money doesn't tell the whole story. He's got the name recognition in this district to win it.  

SD-55: Nachbar Raises $111,000; Alesi Rakes In Corporate And Special Interest Money

by: robert.harding

Fri Oct 03, 2008 at 14:35:56 PM EDT

Nachbar's opponent, Republican Sen. Jim Alesi, has a large filing with over $706,000 cash on hand. Alesi has benefited greatly from corporate, PACs and special interest donors. While most of Nachbar's money came from individual donors, most of Alesi's came from corporations ($40,150.00), PACs and special interests ($89,800.00) and transfers in from certain committees, like Joe Bruno's ($9,500), Dean Skelos ($9,500) and the Monroe County Republican Committee ($101,982.00).

The Nachbar campaign also saw the difference. In a press release about their filings, they exude a positive attitude about where they are getting their money, what that means for their campaign and what that says about their campaign.

One striking difference in the campaigns is the source of the money raised so far by the candidates.  The majority of Alesi's funds come from Political Action Committees, corporations, and Republican Party organizations.  The Monroe County Republican Committee, for example, contributetd over $100,000 to the incumbent's campaign.  Alesi's TV advertising, coincidentally, is being produced by former County Republican party chair Steve Minarik's advertising firm.

Nachbar's reported donations, in contrast, come almost entirely from individual donors.  Nachbar campaign spokesperson Kate Bardsley said, "The nature of the money says a great deal about the nature of the candidates.  Dave is proud of the fact that his message is resonating with individuals and working people, who have been unrepresented in State government for too long.

Cash-on-hand figures, which are not directly indicative of relative strength of campaigns, show Alisi with an incumbent's advantage.  Alesi, who started the race with over $500k, ended the period with a balance of $706k, while the Nachbar campaign reported just under $80k on hand.  The imbalance partly reflects the Nachbar campaign's earlier roll-out of a sizable TV advertising campaign, which involved significant spending outlays.  The campaign expects the pace of advertising spending to continue through the election.

While reported financial numbers are important, they never tell the whole story.  In Nachbar's case, unnamed State Democratic Party officials asserted that "the party is fully committed to this race."

Among all New York State Senate Democratic candidates on ActBlue, Nachbar has raised the most money, raising $70,127 to date.

Nachbar has shown that he is a great fundraiser among individuals and has received outstanding support from individuals. His ActBlue page proves that.

Make no mistake: Nachbar is in this race. The money does tell one story here. That is the Republicans are investing locally into Alesi because they know Nachbar is a real contender. They wouldn't be giving all that money to Alesi if Nachbar was just a token candidate. Keep that in mind.

ON THE WEB:

David Nachbar's ActBlue Page

Health Care and Campaign Cash -- Queens press conference Wed. 9/10

by: greenheron

Mon Sep 08, 2008 at 16:46:05 PM EDT

Please join Citizen Action of New York City and Make the Road for a press conference on Wednesday, Sept. 10 at noon, corner of Corner of Myrtle Ave. and 71st Street, Glendale, Queens.

Pre-Primary Filings At A Glance

by: robert.harding

Sun Aug 10, 2008 at 15:41:25 PM EDT

AD-64: Sheldon Silver's filing shows that he has $3,005,612.99 cash on hand with about a month left until Primary Day. Silver's challengers, Paul Newell and Luke Henry, do not have a 32 day filing on record, at least as of right now.

SD-15: Democrat Joseph Addabbo filed on Friday with $138,763.70 cash on hand and $24,575.00 in contributions received over the last few weeks. Addabbo's primary opponent, Albert Baldeo, filed with $401,101.59 cash on hand.

SD-25: Martin Connor filed with $74,668.57 cash on hand while receiving $21,500 in contributions and spending $29,766.35. Connor's Democratic primary opponent Daniel Squadron does not have a 32 day filing on record.

SD-61: Democratic candidates Michele Iannello, Joe Mesi and Dan Ward all submitted 32 day filings. Mesi' filing shows that Mesi has $64,619.83 cash on hand while hauling in $28,753.41 in receipts and spending $26,341.19. Iannello's filing shows that she has $6,369.57 cash on hand with about a month to go before the primary. Iannello received $1,719.21 in contributions while spending $9,066.49. Ward filed with $9,559.68 cash on hand while loaning his campaign $4,000 and his campaign receiving $495 in contributions.

NY-21: Brooks Leads Steck, Tonko And Shahinfar In Fundraising Matchup

by: robert.harding

Tue Jul 15, 2008 at 23:22:01 PM EDT

Brooks raised $201,863.46 and has $257,284.84 cash on hand after the second quarter of fundraising in 2008. This cycle, Brooks has raised just over $380,000. Of that total, $347,700.91 came from individuals - an amazing 91.4 percent of Brooks' total contributions. Brooks had this to say about her fundraising figures:

"The outpouring of financial and volunteer support from people across the entire Capital Region demonstrates that our message of change is resonating with the voters," said Brooks. "I will continue to spend each day talking with the voters about the issues most important to them, such as putting an end to sky-rocketing gas prices, providing affordable health care for all, ending the war in Iraq and protecting a woman's right to choose."

Brooks has also had great success with her ActBlue page. She has been recognized on multiple occasions by ActBlue for her fundraising capabilities.

Steck raked in $121,626 from donors and has $168,471.12 cash on hand. He has received $116,876.00 from individuals, accounting 96 percent of all his contributions. Steck has raised over $277,000 this election cycle and has loaned his campaign $50,000.

Tonko's number are strong, considering he entered the race later than the others. Tonko raised $124,929.98 in his first quarter of fundraising and has $111,815.27 cash on hand. Tonko has received $88,681 from individuals, amounting to about 71 percent of his total contributions.

Shahinfar received $108,617.89 and has $75,487.51 cash on hand. Shahinfar received all but $2,000 from individuals.

Cash on hand is the important figure and there isn't a huge divide between the candidates. Brooks has the lead, but only by about $89,000 over Steck. The gap between Steck and Tonko is very small, with Steck having about $57,000 more than Tonko. Shahinfar is in a somewhat distant fourth.

The money numbers here tell the story. This primary is very close. Brooks is in the lead with cash, but it's not a massive lead. Over the next two months, these candidates will be working hard to win the primary. It will get interesting, if it wasn't already.

More Filings From Assembly, Senate Candidates/Elected Officials

by: robert.harding

Tue Jul 15, 2008 at 16:19:51 PM EDT

We will start on the Assembly with one notable: Assemblyman Sam Hoyt. Hoyt raised $$137,322.00 and has $124,369.52 cash on hand. This comes a day after it was announced that Tom Golisano had given to Hoyt's primary opponent, Barbra Kavanaugh.

On the Senate side, we have more than a few to mention.

- Sen. Charles Fuschillo has $505,385.42 cash on hand and received $58,050.00 in contributions over the last six months.

- Jim Gennaro raised $233,479.02 and has $406,965.01 cash on hand. No numbers yet on his SD-11 opponent, Sen. Frank Padavan.

- Simcha Felder is loaded. He has $1,273,429.62 cash on hand after raising $148,975.00 in the first half of this year. Felder is running in SD-21.

- Phillip has the details on the numbers in SD-25. One of the questions about Connor was how much he had in the bank since that was not included in his press release. Connor has $82,962.92 cash on hand. While the individual fundraising numbers are great to look at, how much you have the bank matters. When Dan Squadron has $291,000 in the bank, that tells you something.

- SD-48 is interesting. Republican David Renzi has $55,875.33 cash on hand while Sen. Darrel Aubertine has $45,329.44 cash on hand. Even though Aubertine had $205,975.55 in total receipts, he had over $194,000 in expenses to take care of.

- Rick Dollinger's filing is in. More on his money later.

We should have more as they come in late this afternoon.  

SD-55: Nachbar, Alesi Filings In

by: robert.harding

Tue Jul 15, 2008 at 15:33:13 PM EDT

Nachbar filed his figures, which includes $175,000 in self-financing for his campaign. Altogether, Nachbar received $50,866.41 in contributions, which include contributions he has received from his ActBlue page. Nachbar was recognized as one of the top fundraisers for the week on ActBlue.

His opponent Alesi received $62,325.00 in contributions plus $17,594.12 in miscellaneous receipts, giving Alesi $508,044.73 cash on hand.

What does this mean for Nachbar? Good things. Very good things. Not only does Nachbar have the ability to self-finance (which he is doing), but he also has the ability to fundraise. Raising $50,000 in a quarter might not be impressive to some, but it is in Nachbar's case when you consider he has been in this race for over a month. Yes, that's one month. I interviewed Nachbar on June 4, only a couple of days after he declared his candidacy.

So while Nachbar didn't beat Alesi in the fundraising column, things are looking very good for Nachbar. He has been endorsed by Sen. Chuck Schumer and his race is truly one of the bigger races here in New York.  

DiNapoli 2010 Filing: Over $103,000 Cash On Hand, Two $10,000 Checks From NYSUT

by: robert.harding

Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 17:04:47 PM EDT

CONTRIBUTIONS: $60,929.40
MISC. RECEIPTS: $10,766.20
TOTAL RECEIPTS: $71,695.60
TOTAL EXPENSES: $123,524.29
CASH ON HAND: $103,171.31

DiNapoli instituted a self-imposed $10,000 limit on contributions. However, there are two $10,000 contributions from the New York State United Teachers union. Depending on how you look at it, it could be a violation of that self-imposed limit. If you say $10,000 per contribution, then NYSUT giving two $10,000 contributions abides by DiNapoli's self-imposed limit. However, if you say $10,000 per contributor, that is a different story.

Governor Paterson Rakes In Campaign Contributions

by: robert.harding

Mon Jul 14, 2008 at 13:06:22 PM EDT

Bill Mahoney of NYPIRG put together an analysis of how Paterson's figures compare to past figures with Eliot Spitzer and George Pataki.

Pataki  1999  $2,938,464.63
Pataki 2000 $2,271,224.71
Pataki 2001 $8,824,483.00
Pataki 2002 $12,944,352.98
Pataki 2003 $2,208,722.48
Pataki 2004 $1,698,835.58
Pataki 2005 $785,811.00
Pataki 2006 $15,172.50
Spitzer 2007 $3,692.033.66
Paterson 2008 appx $3.2 million

Paterson hasn't abided by the same self-imposed limits that Spitzer set when Spitzer set a limit of $10,000. Paterson separated himself from such a limit, which is obvious when you consider that he raised millions in such a short time as governor.

It also should make clear that Paterson will be a formidable gubernatorial candidate in 2010 should he be challenged in a primary. That is a hefty sum of money. Plus, if he continues his style, he will win over a lot of bi-partisan support, making him a lock for victory in 2010.

SD-51 Don Barber & Supporters-- The Little Engine that Could.... Change Albany

by: robinia

Fri Jul 11, 2008 at 12:21:23 PM EDT

That's Don Barber's campaign. No big donors, all little ones.  And, we are really, really close to the top of a major ridge.

I just got a chat back from the campaign-- we are within five thousand dollars of the goal we must reach by midnight tonight to leverage DSSC funding.  Some pledges will continue to come in on line today.  But, if you can spare even a bit to help all of us push Don over the top, now is the time.  http://barberforsenate.com

If you are wondering why you should support Don even though you don't live in his district, please see my previous post on this here.