Grassroots fundraisers with friends, family and loyal Green Party donors are among the major sources of funding for Ursula Rozum’s campaign for Congress.
As of Oct. 20, Rozum had only raised $7,853 total in donations for her campaign for the 24th Congressional District seat, according campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. She is running against U.S. Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, and Democratic challenger Dan Maffei of DeWitt. In 2010, Buerkle won the seat from Maffei by 648 votes.
Buerkle and Maffei have waged a fierce multi-million-dollar rematch. Buerkle, Maffei and other groups have spent more than $6 million in the campaign. This makes the 24th Congressional District race the most expensive race for a congressional seat in Central New York history, according to The Post-Standard.
Rozum cites her lack of money as her largest disadvantage in this race. “It’s a constant struggle because I think the role that big money plays in campaigns is exactly what alienates these average voters from the political process,” Rozum said. “And it’s the reason, I think, why voters have little faith in politics and the major parties.”
Election day is Nov. 6.
The newly drawn 24th Congressional District includes all of Cayuga, Onondaga and Wayne counties, and part of Oswego County.
Candidates were required to file quarterly financial disclosure reports to the Federal Election Commission by Oct. 15, covering their fundraising and spending from July 1 to Sept. 30. As of Oct. 18, Rozum’s list of named individual donors had not been updated by the FEC’s website.
Here’s an overview of Rozum’s fundraising over the past two years, according to data from the FEC:
- Through June 30, Rozum had only raised $1,805.
- Of her $7,853 fundraising total, 42 percent — or $3,295 — came from named individual donors.
- Her biggest individual donor was Vincent Lloyd, an assistant professor of religion at Syracuse University, who gave $1,000.
Lloyd cites his views of the other candidates as a reason he supports Rozum with his donation. Opponents Dan Maffei and Anne Marie Buerkle are not speaking to the most important issues of the day: guaranteeing healthcare and affordable secondary education to Americans, Lloyd said. He chose to donate to Rozum, he said, because she provides an alternative voice in this congressional election.
Rozum, a staff coordinator with the Syracuse Peace Council, credits part of her small bank account to the Green Party’s principles. She and other Green Party candidates take contributions only from individuals, not from corporations or groups.
She will hold a small Halloween party fundraiser with friends and family next week, Rozum said.
For spending, Rozum’s campaign has put most of its money in raising its public profile, said campaign treasurer Amelia Ramsey-Lefevre. That’s mostly lawn signs, stickers, fund appeals and letters that go out to likely supporters, she said.
They have to use their budget wisely, said Ramsey-Lefevre, because it’s “so miniscule.” Rozum’s campaign receives an average donation amount of about $70 from individual contributors, Ramsey-Lefevre said.
As of Oct. 20, campaign finance reports show Rozum low on cash. By then, Rozum had $2,597 on hand.
She plans to use the remaining funds to purchase a TV ad spot for local Syracuse channels, Rozum said. “We think it’s the best way to reach voters in big campaign like this,” she said. “And we think it will be refreshing after voters have been subjected to the extremely negative stuff being campaigned so far.”
(Liz Sawyer is a junior majoring in newspaper and online journalism.)
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