A few readers have encouraged me to take a longer perspective on the fund-raising efforts of the public advocate candidates, and particularly of Bill de Blasio’s $200,000 haul in the last six months.
While that number is large for this filing period, overall, de Blasio still lags behind some of the other candidates. He has raised $809,373 and spent $311,128.
In the latest filing period ending in July, Eric Gioia spent roughly the same amount of money ($335,325), but raised significantly more money: $2,080,169.
John Liu has spent significantly more than de Blasio and Gioia – $821,694 – but has raised $3,117,291.
The only established candidate with less money than de Blasio is civil liberties attorney Norman Siegel, who raised $189,376 and spent $122,106.
The more crowded the race becomes – former public advocate Mark Green and City Councilwoman Jessica Lappin may yet jump in – the more important money will be in allowing candidates to distinguish themselves from the pack.
