Over the last month, hundreds of thousands of dollars in Campaign Contributions have flowed through a website, created by the New York City’s Campaign Finance Board (CFB), to make it easier for grass-roots Candidates to gain access to the kind of small-donor-fueled online fund-raising platforms that propelled Major Campaigns like those of President Obama or Senator Sanders.
The site, NYCVotes.org, is free for all Candidates to use and allows Donors to make credit card Contributions online.
“We wanted to put those tools in the hands of every candidate in our system, from City Council and up, and remove the barriers for them to get online, connect with their supporters and plug directly into our system,” said Eric Friedman, the Board’s Assistant Executive Director for Public Affairs.
Candidates are required to report fund-Raising by next Tuesday for the six-month period that ended on Jan. 11th.
Candidates have raised more than $950,000 through the site since it was created last February, according to the Board. More than half of that total came during the final month of the reporting period.
Much of that money may be eligible for the City’s Matching Funds program, which provides a six-to-one match for the first $175 in Contributions to a Candidate from any City resident. In that way, a Voter who makes a $175 Contribution to a Candidate makes it possible for the Candidate to receive an additional $1,050.
The Board said that 78 of the 130 Candidates registered to run in City Elections this year have signed up to use the website.
Some of the best-known Candidates who already have established Fund-Raising Machines are not using the site. They include Mayor Bill de Blasio, the City Comptroller, Scott M. Stringer, and the Public Advocate, Letitia James. Paul J. Massey Jr., a wealthy Republican Real Estate Executive running for Mayor, has not signed up either.
Justin Brannan, a first-time Candidate running for City Council as a Democrat in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, said that Donors see the power of the Matching Funds program when they use the site, because it shows them how much the Candidate will receive in addition to their Personal Contribution. “When they give 50 bucks and they see that their $50 is going to turn into $350, I think it’s very impressive,” Mr. Brannan said. “I don’t have big-money donors, I don’t have special interests or PACs, I’m just a guy from the neighborhood running for office.” He said that he took in about $40,000 through the site in the last month, from Donations averaging about $100.
Rory Lancman, a Democratic City Councilman from Eastern Queens, was among the first to report Donations. His report, filed on Thursday, showed that he had received Contributions of $407,359 during the six-month period. Mr. Lancman is eligible to run for Re-Election but he has not declared whether he will do so, or seek another office, and he appears to be waiting to see if Mr. Stringer or Ms. James runs against Mr. de Blasio, which would open up a Citywide Seat. “Depending on how politics shake out in the next few months, I’ll be ready to run for citywide office if the opportunity presents itself,” Mr. Lancman said. “There is a very strong interest within the Democratic Party for a progressive voice that is independent of Mayor de Blasio.”
Mr. Lancman said that donors gave him about $130,000 through the Board’s website. “I am not shy,” he said, “about taking out my phone and handing it to a prospective donor and saying, ‘You can enter your credit card information right now.’”
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
