The money financing Democrat Julie Cecile’s campaign for Onondaga County Family Court Judge is mainly coming from named individuals.
As of Oct. 26, Cecile had raised $46,058 from 226 donors since mid-June, according to campaign finance reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections. That means Cecile had raised $348 per day since June 15.
Cecile, the executive director of the McMahon/Ryan Child Advocacy Center, is running against county legislator Patrick Kilmartin, R-Syracuse. By comparison, Kilmartin had raised $58,377 from 176 donors. The election is Nov. 6.
Some highlights of Cecile’s campaign finances, from the state board of elections:
- 65 percent – or $30,254 — of her $46,0548 raised, came from named individuals.
- 13 percent – or $5,900 — came from labor unions. Among the donations from labor unions are $2,000 from Iron Workers Local 60; another $1,350 from IBEW Local 43; also $1,200 from Teamsters Local 317; and $1,000 from Plumbers & Steamfitters.
- 2 percent – or $1,500 — came from Democratic elected officials.
- Those include $1,000 from state Sen. Dave Valesky, D-Oneida; $500 from Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli, D-Syracuse.
- $600 from Republican William Fitzpatrick, the county district attorney, who has also given $3,100 to her opponent Kilmartin.
- 3 percent – or $1,600 – came from law firms.
- Her donations also include $1,650 in contributions from family members Kathy, Dave, and Pam Cecile.
- All but five of Cecile’s 226 donors were named individuals or groups within New York. The five out-of-state donations came from Cecile’s brother, Matt Allen, and four of Cecile’s friends.
One of her largest donors, Local 43 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, or IBEW, gave to Cecile to help get her message to voters, said Don Morgan, IBEW’s business manager.
“We have known Julie for years. We’ve worked with her at McMahon/Ryan,” said Don Morgan, IBEW’s business manager. “We know what she thinks of children and the good that she has done here in the city of Syracuse. And we stand behind her. She’s the girl for the job.”
Bob McClure, a Syracuse University political scientist, downplayed the importance of money in elections. “Elections are not about money. They are about votes,” said McClure. And for candidates in local races, he said, the candidate’s political party carries a lot of weight. That’s because voters may not know very much about the candidate. So, he said, “The party is going to be the key that will drive what people do here.”
As of Oct. 27, Cecile had spent $17,133, according to the state board of elections reports. And she had $27,615 on hand.
(Macy Jenkins is a graduate student in broadcast and digital journalism.)
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