Almost a quarter of Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins’ campaign money for the District 4 Common Council seat has come from his own pocket.
As of Oct. 28, Hawkins had raised $8,612, according to campaign finance reports filed with the New York state board of elections. Of that, Hawkins had lent his campaign $2,000.
The race for the Syracuse Common Council seat from District 4 is Hawkins’ 19th political run. His opponent this time is Khalid Bey, also a social activist and the Democratic candidate. Both are trying to succeed Democrat Tom Seals, who reached his term limit. District 4 includes the central portion of the city including downtown Syracuse, Brighton, Southwest, University Hill and University neighborhoods.
The District has 13,364 registered voters. Of those, 8,617 are Democrats; 1,190 are Republicans; 84 are Green Party.
The election is on Nov. 8.
Here’s an overview of Hawkins’ fundraising, from state campaign finance reports:
- In August, Hawkins had a starting balance of $99 in his campaign fund.
- Between August and Oct. 28, Hawkins raised $4,900 in named donations, including his own $2,000 loan to his campaign. That’s 57 percent of all donations. The state requires that names of donors are included with their donation information if it exceeds $250.
- Unnamed donors who gave less than $250 each account for 43 percent — or $3,712 — of Hawkins total.
- As of Oct. 28, Hawkins campaign filings on the state board of elections had 76 separate donations.
In an email interview, Howie Hawkins’ campaign manager, Ursula Rozum, said fundraising and spending is different for Green Party candidates, like Hawkins. “Howie Hawkins, or any Green for that matter, do not accept money from corporations or business accounts. Nor do we accept donations from organizations where the members do not have control over finances,” Rozum said.
To fundraise, she said, Hawkins and Green Party campaigns make appeals selectively by email and with house parties by supporters.
Hawkins’ campaign spending is also higher, said Rozum, because of Green Party principles. “We are committed to printing materials at union shops,” she said. And to save money, campaign volunteers sometimes make campaign materials like buttons and magnets.
As of Oct. 28, Hawkins’ spending looked like this in reports filed with the state board of elections:
- Between Sept. 20, shortly after he announced his candidacy, and Oct. 28, his campaign has spent $4,358.
- Of that, $2,247 went to pamphlets, lawn signs and other promotional materials. He also spent $124 combined on supplies and copies. Hawkins spent $1,991 on mailings.
- This leaves Hawkins with $4,353 on hand leading up to the election.
(Caitlin M. Francis is a grad student in broadcast and digital journalism.)
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