Another mayoral candidate has strategically released a fundraising total in the run-up to Wednesday’s filing deadline for campaign finance reports.
The candidate, Justin Elicker, issued a release Tuesday afternoon stating that he has raised $143,000 to date from more than 870 donors, 77 percent of whom live in New Haven. Average contribution: $87. The total includes $44,900 in money from the Democracy Fund, the public-financing campaign in which he and fellow candidates Kermit Carolina and Sundiata Keitazulu have agreed to participate.
Elicker is seeking to show that he can raise enough money to run a credible campaign while also accepting the voluntary restrictions imposed on Democracy Fund participants: limiting individual contributions to $370 (rather than $1,000) and swearing off donations from outside committees. In the release (read it here), Elicker made a point of noting that Toni Harp, another candidate, has reported that only 29 percent of her donors to date can be described as “small” and “city-based.” Click here to read a story about Harp’s spin on her fundraising, which totaled $116,967 through June 30.
Five Democrats in all are running for mayor, seeking to succeed retiring 20-year incumbent John DeStefano. Their filings later this week will shed light on who exactly is giving them money, and how much.