For campaign money, Democrat David Stott trails badly in the race for District 4 of the Onondaga County Legislature.
As of Oct. 28, Stott had raised $10,119. That compares to $25,873 raised by incumbent Judy Tassone, R-Liverpool.
The District 4 race is a heated rematch. In 2009, Stott, of Salina, lost to Tassone by 138 votes. District 4 is in the central region of Onondaga County, including Geddes, the western part of Salina, Liverpool and Onondaga Lake. The election is Nov. 8.
In his campaign, Stott attributes his comparatively small fundraising to sensitivity about voters’ economic hardships today. “To go out and ask people to give you money — individuals — it’s just a very difficult financial time,” he said.
The largest donations to Stott’s campaign came from his father, unions and fellow Democratic politicians, according to campaign finance reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections.
Here’s a breakdown of Stott’s top donations, from campaign finance reports:
- His father, Ronald Stott, gave $2,000 — or about 20 percent of his son’s campaign money.
- Unions accounted for nearly 40 percent — or $4,047 — of his fundraising. A civil service employee union, the local electrical workers union and the local Teamsters union each gave $1,000 each.
- The Committee for Legislative Action, a group that raises money to get local Democrats elected, gave $2,099. That’s about 20 percent of Stott’s campaign contributions and his largest single donation.
- Mark Stanczyk, D-Syracuse, donated $500, or about 5 percent of Stott’s funds.
Stanczyk is as the legislature’s Democratic floor leader and is the incumbent candidate for District 9, which covers part of Syracuse. Stanczyk and David Stott worked together on the county legislature for two years.
Stott’s background in finances impressed him, Stanczyk said. Stott is a sales consultant. “David comes from a business background and he understands numbers,” Stanczyk said. “He would be good to have back.”
In his bid to retake the District 4 seat, Stott is penny-pinching. He found simply printing on smaller cards saved money but still got word out about his candidacy, he said. As of Oct. 28, Stott had spent a total of $6,208, according to the campaign finance reports.
He is also putting more energy and time into door-to-door campaigning to make up for less literature, Stott said. “During the week, I probably knock on 50 to 100 doors,” Stott said.
Knocking on doors matters in local elections, said Jeff Stonecash, a political scientist at Syracuse University. “They dazzle the voters because voters are rarely visited by politicians,” Stonecash said.
Kristi Andersen, also an SU political science professor, agreed. Candidates can run successful campaigns at the local level without spending a lot of money, she said. “They can definitely run a campaign without spending a lot of money,” she said.
This campaign’s finances are a stark contrast to past races for Stott. For his races in 2007 and 2009, state records show, Stott accumulated a total personal debt of $18,712 for his campaigns. He doesn’t plan to pay himself back, he said.
And this year, he won’t put as much of his own money into the campaign, he said. His father is also undergoing treatment for leukemia. Stott is his father’s primary caretaker. Taking care of a sick parent over the past two years has reduced his expendable income, he said. The latest records show Stott gave only $69.08 out of his own pocket this year.
And in today’s hard economic times, he said, he’s reluctant to ask others for donations. “It’s just not right,” said Stott, “to ask my neighbors for money.”
(Beckie Strum is a senior majoring in newspaper journalism and Middle Eastern studies.)
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