In the race to collect donations, Syracuse mayoral candidate Ben Walsh has a comfortable lead over competitor Juanita Perez Williams as their campaigns enter the final weeks before November’s general election.

The independent candidate, despite narrowly trailing Democrat Perez Williams in a recent poll, has received more than twice the amount of donations she has, according to New York State Board of Elections financial disclosure records filed last month.

Walsh enters the last weeks of the 2017 mayoral race with just under $366,000 in campaign contributions, per his most recent disclosure, while Perez Williams has collected about $180,000.

Republican Laura Lavine, currently third in a recent poll, has raised roughly $109,000.

The Vote Green Syracuse committee, which supports Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, has raised about $15,000, including a $7,000 loan from Hawkins himself. The Vote Green Syracuse committee provides money to Hawkins and three Green Party candidates running for Syracuse Common Council positions.

Though Walsh has raised the most of the four candidates, his fundraising does not come close to the nearly $685,000 in contributions current Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner received during her 2009 campaign, New York State Board of Elections data shows.

Where the money’s coming from

Six of Walsh’s 11 largest contributions have come from two construction companies, or people affiliated with them.

The independent candidate received $14,500 in separate donations from a construction company called the Hayner Hoyt Corporation and its leaders, Gary and Jeremy Thurston.

Charles Sangster and Courtney Wilson, who each head a construction company called CBD Companies, donated a combined $7,000. The company itself gave Walsh an additional $1,000 in contributions.

Walsh also received more than $10,300 through multiple, differently-named limited liability corporations and limited partnerships in Florida filed under a registered agent named Sarah Pietrafesa, according to Florida business records.

At a debate last week, Walsh and Perez Williams traded blows over Walsh’s connections to developers. Walsh previously served as deputy commissioner of the Department of Neighborhood and Business Development and executive director of the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency, which gives tax exemptions, grants and bonds to city businesses.

“Many of these business owners have over a decade of experience working with me,” Walsh said. Walsh added he thinks the businesses appreciate the work he did while he had a job at the city government.

Walsh’s largest single donation came from a law firm he works at called Mackenzie Hughes LLP. Individual partners at the company gave Walsh a combined $10,000 in early October.

The independent has received more than 860 individual donations, though some are separate donations from the same person or company. The average contribution to Walsh’s campaign was about $424.

Of those contributions, about 41 percent — or just under $145,000 — have come from outside the city of Syracuse, records show. Roughly 9 percent of his contributions have come from out of state.

Out-of-city and out-of-state statistics in The Daily Orange’s analysis do not include unitemized donations. A donor’s name and address do not appear on unitemized donations, which are contributions less than $100. But unitemized donations are included in the four candidates’ fundraising totals.

Walsh had about $13,450 in unitemized donations, Perez Williams had about $625, Lavine had $1,545 and Hawkins’ committee had about $3,400.

Perez Williams received a majority of her contributions from outside Syracuse, according to her disclosures. Less than half of her $180,000 donation total came from people or businesses with Syracuse addresses.

Similar to Walsh, about 10 percent of Perez Williams’ donations are from out of state.

Unions have given more to Perez Williams’ campaign than other candidates. The local electrical workers union, iron workers union, sheet metal workers union and the roofing and waterproofing workers union each have made contributions to her campaign.

Perez Williams’ largest single donation, at $5,000, comes from a law firm based in Syracuse.

The average contribution to Perez Williams’ campaign is about $285. The Democrat has racked up approximately 630 individual contributions.

The $180,000 Perez Williams has raised so far does not include a $30,000 loan she gave to her campaign at the end of August.

Lavine has raised just over $109,000. Of that number, $45,100 came from Lavine herself or her family members, including her brother and nephew.

“Holding fundraisers is not something I do,” Lavine said. She said many of her donors contribute to her campaign after she has one-on-one conversations with them.

About 58 percent of Lavine’s contributions are from outside the city, and about 7 percent are from out of state.

The average contribution to the Republican’s campaign is about $500, and about 220 individual donations have been made to Lavine’s mayoral campaign.

It is unclear the exact amount  Hawkins, Green Party candidate, has raised. Unlike the other candidates, the committee he raises money through — the Vote Green Syracuse committee — divvies up funds between Hawkins and three Common Council candidates.

The committee, in total, has accumulated about $15,000, which includes a $7,000 loan from Hawkins himself.

Hawkins said the committee receives lots of small donations and, as a policy, doesn’t take contributions from for-profit entities. The committee hosts house parties where people talk about the campaign and make donations. Vote Green Syracuse also emails solicitations and accepts direct mail and online donations.

“We want to represent regular people, not money from special interests,” he said.

The Vote Green Syracuse committee’s largest contribution was a $1,000 donation from Solidarity, a socialist and feminist organization based in Detroit.

Where the money’s going

Walsh has poured money into TV and social media ads since the Democratic primary in September, records show. On Sept. 13, the day after Perez Williams won the party’s nomination, Walsh spent more than $22,000 on TV ads.

Walsh’s TV ad expenditures have now reached almost $75,000. All of that money was spent after the primary on Sept. 12.

In this TV spot, Walsh hammers the other candidates for not having children in the Syracuse City School District. The day after the primary on Sept. 12, Walsh spent $22,000 on TV ads.

The independent candidate in the past year has also spent small amounts of money on fundraising events for New York state Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Onondaga County Executive Joanie Mahoney and the Onondaga County Republican Committee.

Walsh said he spent $1,000 at a Cuomo fundraising event and $250 at a Mahoney event to signal he’s willing to work with the two as mayor, Syracuse.com reported.

Perez Williams allocated just over $41,000 to TV ads since the primary, according to her expenditure reports.

Lavine has spent more than $30,000 on consulting throughout her campaign, records show. She hasn’t spent any money on TV ads, though.

The Republican said she does not have the money to buy TV ads like the other candidates in coming weeks. But she has, in the past, bought campaign postcards and signs, Lavine said.

Hawkins said his largest expenses have been on yard signs and postcards.

Officials from Perez Williams’ campaign did not respond to requests for comment on this story regarding her future fundraising strategy.

Graphics by Andy Mendes | Digital Design Editor

Published on October 19, 2017 at 1:35 am

Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18