Elicker Leads Pack In Q2 Fundraising

by THOMAS BREEN

Mayor Justin Elicker out-fundraised his Democratic primary rivals by between $14,000 and $38,000 in individual contributions this spring and still has over $181,000 left in the bank according to the latest mayoral race campaign finance filings.

Those reports cover campaign money raised and spent between April 1 and June 30 in this year’s race for mayor.

All four Democratic candidates vying for the party’s nomination in the Sept. 12 primary two-term incumbent Justin Elicker, retired police sergeant Shafiq Abdussabur, former legal aid attorney Liam Brennan, and ex-McKinsey consultant Tom Goldenberg submitted their required campaign finance reports with the State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) by Monday’s filing deadline.

The reports offer a snapshot of where the race stands, at least from a dollarsand-cents perspective.

Viewed from that angle, the current mayor has a serious advantage.

According to his campaign’s second-quarter filing report, Elicker raised $68,788 in individual donations during that threemonth time frame.

That compares to $54,295 raised by Abdussabur, $34,231 by Brennan, and $30,196 by Goldenberg in that same period.

Those numbers also show that, for the second set of filing reports in a row, clean money prevailed. That’s because the three candidates participating in the city’s public financing Democracy Fund program Elicker, Abdussabur, and Brennan all brought in more in individual donations than Goldenberg, who is not participating in the Democracy Fund.

They did so even as those three Democracy Funders agreed to forswear special-interest money and individual contributions above $445 in exchange for public finance-provided matching funds and grants. All as part of a program designed to help more people, including those without great personal wealth or rich connections, to run for mayor.

Goldenberg, meanwhile, continued to seek out individual donations worth up to $1,000 apiece the state-law-allowed maximum. He brought in ten such maxedout contributions this quarter, and then lent his campaign another $10,000 of his own money.

In total, according to these four Q2 campaign finance filings, Elicker has raised $227,482 in individual donations, and has brought in $257,042 in total monetary receipts (including Democracy Fund grants and matches).

Abdussabur has raised $101,365 in individual donations, and has brought in $112,305 in total monetary receipts.

Brennan has raised $66,020 in individual donations, and has brought in $76,464 in total monetary receipts.

And Goldenberg has raised $77,688 in individual donations, and has brought in $116,913 in total monetary receipts (including a prior $25,000 loan Goldenberg gave his own campaign earlier this year.) These reports also show that Elicker has much more cash in the bank at the end of the quarter than any of his three Democratic rivals.

Elicker has $181,425 on hand at the end of Q2, Abdussabur has $62,069, Brennan has $36,768, and Goldenberg has $23,880.

“I’m grateful for all of the support our campaign has received,” Elicker is quoted as saying in a campaign press release sent out on Monday. That release states that Elicker has received 884 donations from New Haven residents so far. “New Haven residents have seen the progress we have made over the past four years on housing, on public safety, on education and on the city’s finances. We have more work to do and New Haven residents clearly want to continue in the direction we are headed.”

“I am so proud of the continued momentum we saw in this second quarter through our fundraising and by sharing our robust platform to address community issues,” Abdussabur is quoted as saying in his own campaign email press release on Monday. “There is a clear growing chorus for change in this city, and you can see it firsthand by the diversity of donors backing our campaign.” His release noted that Abdussabur’s campaign saw a 15 percent increase in donations from individuals this quarter “while the incumbent saw a 33% reduction in contributions this quarter.”

“We exceeded our fundraising goals for the first six months, which is fantastic,” Brennan is quoted as saying in a cam- paign email press release from Monday. “But, more importantly, we set out to build a grassroots, people-powered campaign and that is exactly what we have done. By focusing on direct voter outreach and a shoe leather approach, we have been able to run on a series of issues that challenges that status quo and points to a better direction for New Haven’s future.” His press release also states that, when taking into account funds raised when he was still exploring a run for mayor and also the Democracy Fund $23,000 grant and other matching funds to come, his campaign has actually raised over $112,000 so far this year.

Goldenberg’s email press release from Tuesday states that the $116,913 his campaign has raised so far this year through individual donations and his own loans to himself represents “the most of all challengers in the race.” He said the list of donors to his campaign includes “three former U.S. city mayors, and numerous community leaders, and current and former elected officials. Goldenberg looks forward to gearing up for the primary election in September and mobilizing supporters at the polls.”