While former U.S. Rep. and notorious tweeter Anthony Weiner, previously a Forest Hills resident whose seat covered parts of Queens and Brooklyn, has grabbed much of the spotlight in recent days, thanks to his decision to jump into an already crowded mayoral race, Council Speaker Christine Quinn remains the front runner in campaign fundraising – as well as in the polls.
Quinn has raised about $7.06 million, with $508,730 of that coming from the most recent campaign finance period that ran from March 12 to May 11, according to her records filed with the city Campaign Finance Board last week. She recently received significant financial boosts from people like Ari Emanuel – the Hollywood agent brother of Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel – who gave the maximum donation of $4,950 – and crime writer Linda Fairstein, a former sex crimes prosecutor who also handed $4,950 to the speaker. Quinn, a Manhattan Democrat who polls have consistently named as the favored candidate in the mayoral race, has about $5.8 million in her campaign war chest – more than any of her opponents.
Quinn’s ability to generate funds and voter support landed her the backing of the Queens County Democrats – led by U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Queens, Bronx) – this week.
“The unrivaled diversity of Queens and the cohesion of the County Democratic Committee make this endorsement a key victory for our campaign,” the speaker said in a prepared statement.
Weiner, also a Democrat, landed second in campaign finances, as well as in the most recent Quinnipiac University poll, with his CFB filing showing him raising about $5.14 million and having an estimated $4.27 million on hand. He, however, raised no money in the last two months, according to his filing with the CFB.
De Blasio, who has received the backing of a number of entertainment stars, such as Sarah Jessica Parker, has received more than $3.92 million in contributions, including nearly $245,000 in the past two months.
City Comptroller and fellow Democrat John Liu, who previously represented Flushing in City Hall, comes in fourth with $3.33 million raised – with about $121,000 of that stemming from the most recent filing period. Liu recently had to return a little more than $14,000 in contributions implicated in the straw donor scheme that led to his former treasurer and a fundraiser being found guilty of federal campaign finance fraud charges earlier this month.
Thompson does not lag far behind Liu, with approximately $3.30 million raised. The former comptroller who ran for mayor in 2009 paid $18,000 for a new chief campaign strategist, Jonathan Prince, this filing period, and secured financial support from Renco Group Chairman Ira Leon Rennert and Andrew and Jonathan Risch of the Loews Corporation. He generated more contributions – $607,950 – than any of his competitors in the past two months.
Joe Lhota, the former head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the lone Republican in the top six fundraisers, has raised $1.28 million, with $558,414 coming from contributions given during the March to May period. The Republican front-runner managed to nab that more than $550,000 thanks, in part, to ex New York Stock Exchange Chief Richard Grasso, former FDNY Commissioner Thomas Von Essen, and Wall Street billionaire Carl Icahn.
President of the Doe Fund and Republican George McDonald had a tough fundraising period, having to loan himself $25,000 in April and $100,000 in May. He has raised a total of $417,450.
Democratic candidate Erick Salgado, a Bronx-born minister, has raised $205,980; Democrat Sal Albanese, a former teacher who represented southern Brooklyn in the City Council, has landed $225,337; and ex-White House urban czar – and former Bronx Borough President – Adolfo Carrion Jr. took in less than $18,000 in contributions this time around but spent about $225,000 on everything from trips to Puerto Rico and Facebook ads, according to his CFB filing.
Republican candidate John Catsimatidis, CEO of the Red Apple Group and Gristedes Foods, spent the most of any of his opponents, forking over a total of about $615,000 between March and May on such expenditures as pollsters and advertising – including in City & State, a publication owned by his former Republican rival, Tom Allon.
By Anna Gustafson
