Every year in NYC you have a massive pissing contest that most people are unaware of. People running for office want to claim the MOST number of signatures during petitioning, even though all you need is a minimum number to qualify. Truth is, people want about 3-5X the minimum to ward of legal challenges, but people want to claim THE MOST. The reasoning is that getting the most signatures indicates the best ground game, and thus the winning formula. Truth is, I have seen many campaigns get the most signatures and then fall flat later, losing badly. The trick is keeping the ground game going. So fundraising may be more important than getting the most signatures. Right now people are also claiming whether they qualify for public matching funds as well to show their funds will be adequate to compete.

We are at that point where these pissing contests are being played out. So far I have heard from three campaigns (two of which I have endorsed, one I am sypathetic with even though I have endorsed someone else).  read more »

Another person I know running for City Council had a good first few weeks of fundraising. Better than the numbers I hear from Rock's campaign (LOL!). This comes from David Galarza's Campaign:

Brooklyn, NY — March 17, 2009 — David Galarza For A New Day, the campaign committee for David Galarza, candidate in the race for Brooklyn’s 38th City Council District (encompassing sections of Sunset Park, Red Hook, Windsor Terrace and South Slope), announced today that it raised approximately $20,000 in the most recent Campaign Finance Board filing period ending March 11, 2009.

With the addition of anticipated matching funds, the campaign will have raised nearly $100,000 in its first complete filing period of campaigning.

“As a grassroots people-driven campaign, I am humbled by the financial support we’ve received from New Yorkers from all walks of life. We only began actively fundraising the week of February 16, and despite these very difficult economic times, the momentum and support from the community continues to grow,” stated David Galarza who is seeking to have his name included on the ballot for the September 15, 2009 Democratic Primary Election.  read more »

From the source that tipped me off about Gillibrand's appointment, here's a few quick stats about the potential electoral world of fundraising pain that would occur if  Gillebrand vacates her post at CD-20 :  read more »

Well, holy poop. Via an emailed press release, available on the web as well.

Paul Newell's grassroots fundraising outpaces Silver's lobby money by two-to-one.

New York , NY- Paul Newell, the insurgent Democrat challenging Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, has raised more than twice as much money as Silver in the most recent filing period -- and has done so without taking any money from the lobbyists and PACs that fill Silver's coffers.

"The momentum is shifting rapidly in this race," said Newell. "Downtown voters understand that change is very much possible in New York State and they have shown that by re-upping their support of an Albany unswayed by corporate contributions."

Newell, who was recently endorsed by The New York Times and the New York Post, raised $40,015 in the most recent filing period compared to Silver's $19,575.

"It is not just the total numbers that are important" explained Evan Hutchison, Newell's campaign manager, "but where the money came from that matters. This is truly a grassroots campaign and these filings bear that out.

Has that even ever happened before, that a challenger for an Assembly seat outraised the sitting incumbent in any time period?  read more »

I got into a bit of hot water recently by comparing the performance of two Democratic campaigns in a primary; and in that same spirit, let's do another comparison, this time in the 25th District.

First, incumbent Marty Connor, under a headline that reads in part Momentum Builds for Senator’s Surging Re-Election Campaign:

New York, New York – July 15, 2008: Senator Martin Connor’s campaign announced today that it has raised over $120,000 in contributions for the July filing with the New York State Board of Elections.

“We are grateful for the extraordinary financial support Senator Connor has received in the last few months from every corner of the 25th Senate District. The Senator has a long record of fighting for the families of New York, and people have responded by supporting his re-election. We will have the resources we need to wage an aggressive re-election campaign,” said Chad Marlow, spokesman for Senator Connor’s re-election campaign.

Then, challenger Dan Squadron:

Today, Daniel Squadron, an insurgent candidate for State Senate in the 25th Senatorial District, announced another round of strong fundraising numbers – raising a total of $428,440 from 750 donors with cash on hand of approximately $291,000.

Squadron today also reaffirmed his pledge not to accept contributions from lobbyists, PACs or corporations. "People are hungry for real independence and a focus on working hard to get results – exactly the reason that so many people have gotten behind this effort," Squadron said. "Without accepting contributions from corporations, PACs or lobbyists we have built a strong campaign that will bring the people of the 25th Senate District the independent, progressive representation we so sorely need."

Outraising an incumbent by a factor of over three to one is pretty remarkable, one would think; but if recent commentary is any indication, Connor probably raised vastly superior super-dollars, much as Jimmy Dahroug gathered super-signatures when he came in with 1,400 versus 3,200 for his opponent in SD-3, Brian Foley.

And no, I'm not going to pick on the regrettable usage of the word "surging", except to note that the word is, these days, associated with something of a similar concept in a place called Iraq that doesn't seem to be going all that well.