If money talks, then incumbent state Sen. David Valesky has a lot more to say than his competition for the state’s 49th Senate District.
As of April 22, Valesky, D-Oneida, had $311,456 cash on hand, according to the campaign finance database of the State Board of Elections. That’s nearly three times the amount reported by Republican Andrew Russo, a concert pianist from Fayetteville and political novice. Russo raised $105,867 since the start of the election cycle on Nov. 3, 2008, according towww.followthemoney.org, a database that tracks money in state politics. The other Republican, Daniel Liedka, has not yet filed a campaign finance report.
Russo and Liedka will run for the Republican Party nomination in a primary election on Sept. 14, 2010. The general election is Nov. 2.
The state’s 49th Senate District includes all of Madison County and parts of Oneida, Onondaga and Cayuga counties.
Here’s an overview of Valesky’s fundraising, according to analysis fromwww.followthemoney.org:
- Of Valesky’s total contributions, 87 percent — or $272,299 — comes from New York state. The top cities for his contributions are Albany, Syracuse and Latham, just outside of Albany.
- Of that, 20 percent — or $62,499 — comes from 201 named individuals.
- 78 percent — or $243,750 — comes from 281 groups, such as unions, professional associations and political action committees or PACs that raise money for candidiates or issues.
- Among groups, his top three contributors are the New York State Association of Realtors, representing more real estate professionals, at $9,500; the New York State Optometric Association, the statewide professional group, at $7,250; and the Ironworkers Local 60, a Syracuse union, at $6,000.
For Republican Russo of Fayetteville, here’s an overview of his fundraising, according to analysis from followthemoney.org:
- Of his total contributions, 99 percent — or $105,395 — comes from New York state. The top cities for his contributions are Fayetteville, Syracuse and Cortland.
- His top contributors are himself and his family. Russo has lent $10,000 — more than nine percent — to his own campaign. And his family members have contributed another $10,000.
- Of his total, 63 percent — or $67,507 — comes from 128 named individuals.
- Of his total, 26 percent — or $28,088 — comes from 33 groups.
Russo did not respond to three requests for an interview.
The second Republican challenger, Liedka, the mayor of East Syracuse, has not yet filed a campaign finance report since forming his committee in January. Candidates are not required to file until July 15.
“July will show all of our contributions and expenditures, but not until then,” Liedka wrote in an e-mail interview.
Liedka is not unusual for delaying in filing the report yet, said Kristi Andersen, a political scientist at Syracuse University. “It’s fairly common,” she said, for campaigns to wait until closer to the deadlines.
(Jennifer Sheppard is a graduate student in magazine, newspaper and online journalism.)
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