Results tagged “campaignspending”

After campaign records showed that Mayor Bloomberg had spent $85 million (through Friday) on his third term mayoral bid, people were amazed—it was, according to the NY TImes, the most anyone had personally spent on any sort of U.S. public office—and disgusted. But the Mayor defended the amount, saying yesterday at an event in Queens, "It costs a lot of money to get a message out and I'm trying to show what we've done and tell people."

By spending $85 million on his third mayoral campaign so far, Mayor Bloomberg entered the history books. The NY Times proclaims, "He has now spent more of his own money than any other individual in United States history in the pursuit of public office," and say the billionaire "is on pace to spend between $110 million and $140 million before the election on Nov. 3."

Mayor Bloomberg continued to shock the political world by revealing he has spent about $65 million on his mayoral campaign so far—three times what his challenger, Democrat City Comptroller Bill Thompson has. Hey, if you're going to be the richest New Yorker—and 8th richest American—you've got to spend it somehow right?

Besides his pitiful poll numbers, Democrats are concerned about another 2010 matter of Governor Paterson's—his campaign money. According to the NY Times, they "worry that Mr. Paterson has not shown discipline in managing his campaign spending or his overall strategy"; the governor has just $5.4 million while Attorney General Cuomo has basically double that. The Times lists many expenses, such as the consultants: Entertainment lawyer and friend "Lisa E. Davis...pulls in $5,000 a month. The governor paid $15,000 to Global Strategy, a consulting firm also used by Eliot Spitzer, before severing his ties with the company. He briefly turned to Judy Smith, a Washington consultant, whose firm was paid $30,000; they parted ways after Ms. Smith was linked to the Paterson administration’s smear campaign against Caroline Kennedy following her aborted Senate candidacy, an episode that damaged the governor’s image." Shouldn't Paterson get a refund on that? A recent hire, Tracy Sefl, "whose firm is paid $20,000 a month, said Mr. Paterson’s new team is committed to keeping expenses down." Expenses like "$1,600 for lodging two staff members on two nights at the Beach House Inn on Shelter Island"?

City Comptroller William Thompson released his campaign finance figures through July 11 and so far, he's spent $2.4 million out of the over $5 million he's raised. Drilling down further, the NY Post reports that Thompson "raised $200,711 and spent $637,147 between May 11 and July 11." PolitickerNY adds that "Thompson now has $251,836 in matchable contributions, just barely over the $250,000 threshold required before the city's Campaign Finance Board starts giving out money. Which won't allow much margin for error. If about $1,800 of those matching claims are rejected for whatever reason, it could delay Thompson’s ability to get money from the board." Last week, it was revealed Mayor Bloomberg had spent $36 million on his re-election bid so far, which outpaces his spending for his 2005 effort (so far).

There was some talk about a year ago that upon finishing out his second and final term, Mayor Bloomberg's plans were to ride off into the sunset and begin pouring some of the many millions he had accumulated into the philanthropic causes supported by his foundation. In the time since, Bloomberg has in fact found a way to open the vault on his fortune at a record pace—into winning an election that no one seems to believe will even be close. With a financial report filed this weekend, Bloomberg has already spent $18.7 million on his campaign for a third term, twice what he had spent at this point in 2005. It's also nearly ten times what challenger Bill Thompson has spent and triple what any possible contender can spend until September under campaign finance regulations. A public affairs expert tells the Times, “There appears to be very little downside to this kind of spending...It’s a shock-and-awe approach.” The paper also calls the mayor's treatment suspiciously harsh treatment of Anthony Weiner (who's not even in the race!) "a thuggish cast to Mr. Bloomberg’s Park Avenue-style campaign."

Yesterday, Mayor Bloomberg's re-election campaign released its spending so far, which totals $2,920,977. While a big number, the Daily News and NY Times all point out that, by this time in 2005, Bloomberg's campaign spent $5 million. (He ultimately sank $84.5 million in 2005.) More details of the breakdown at the Times and News, which also quotes Baruch College's Doug Muzzio, "This isn't even pocket change. These are the pennies that fall through the holes in his pocket - nothing." Bloomberg campaign communications director Howard Wolfson (his firm is paid $40,000/month) said, "We agree with Bill Thompson— this isn’t about money. The race will come down to which candidate has the best record and vision to lead the city at this difficult time." Of course, Thompson, who is running for mayor, also said, "In the end, people will beat money... I believe I'm going to be the next mayor of the city of New York."

In an echo of its 2006 article about her Senate re-election campaign spending, the NY Times finds Hillary Clinton donors are concerned over her campaign's spending. Some of the line items that emerged after her campaign finance report was published: $100,000 in party platters and shovels for Iowa caucus parties (where Clinton placed third - and where it did not snow), $25,000 in hotel rooms at Las Vegas' Bellagio, $275,000 to a South Carolina firm "that was supposed to turn out black voters for her" (Barack Obama won SC by almost 30%) and $267,000 for adviser Howard Wolfson's January fee.