In the money race, U.S. Rep. Ann Marie Buerkle is tapping into the pocketbooks of her family, ordinary citizens and groups primarily from outside New York to help fill her campaign’s piggy bank.
Between Jan. 1, 2011, to Sept. 30, 2012, Buerkle, R-Onondaga Hill, has raised $1,656,293 in her re-election bid for the 24th Congressional District, according to financial disclosure reports to the Federal Election Commission filed on Oct. 15. She and Dan Maffei, the Democratic challenger from DeWitt, are locked in an intense rematch that has become the most expensive congressional race in Central New York history. Also in the race is Green Party candidate Ursula Rozum of Syracuse.
In reports filed last week spanning the period of July 1 through Sept. 30, Buerkle set a new quarterly fundraising record for her campaign of $531,111, edging out Maffei, who raised $493,264 in that quarter.
“You have to money to get your message out,” said Jeffrey Stonecash, a Syracuse University political science professor. “You have to have money to attack the opponent. You just have to have money. There’s no choice. You need money.”
Buerkle, 61, represents the newly drawn 24th Congressional District. In 2010, she narrowly defeated Maffei by 648 votes to become the first woman to represent the Syracuse area for the then-25th Congressional District. In 2012, it became the 24th Congressional District because of constitutionally-mandated redistricting. The new district covers all of Cayuga, Onondaga and Wayne counties, and the western part of Oswego County, including the cities of Oswego and Fulton.
The election is Nov. 6.
Here’s a look at Buerkle’s fundraising, from financial disclosure reports to the FEC:
- Of her $1,656,293 in campaign money, 54.2 percent — or $897,139 — is from 864 named individual donors.
- About $15,475 came from nine contributions from three of her family members. Those include $3,500 from Sadie Colella, her 91-year-old mother who lives in Auburn, and $7,475 from her brother, Tom Colella, vice president of executive recruiting for Wal-Mart Stores Inc.
- 39.9 percent — or $661,305 — is from 290 group contributions. Of those, 16 are for $5,000 each, totaling $80,000.
- Those donations from groups include $10,000 each from The Freedom Project, a group affiliated with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio; and Every Republican is Crucial, affiliated with U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor, R-Va., according to the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C.
- Among her top New York donors are $2,500 from Constellation Brands, an international producer and marketer of wine, beer and spirits headquartered in nearby Victor; $5,000 from New York Life Insurance; $3,500 from AXA Equitable Life Insurance; and $2,500 from MVP Health Care in Schenectady.
- As of Sept. 30, Buerkle had $820,583 on hand compared to $756,869 for Maffei and $2,597 for Rozum.
Buerkle’s top individual contributors include Robert and Laurie Taishoff, Syracuse University graduates who gave a total of $15,000 through four contributions. Robert Taishoff heads the Taishoff Family Foundation, aiming to educate society about the special skills of young people with disabilities. Buerkle had a sister with multiple sclerosis who died when Buerkle was in her first year of law school. Buerkle has been a big supporter of disability rights in Congress.
Although Buerkle graduated from SU College of Law in 1994, she had not received one donation from a SU employee as of Sept. 30. By comparison, at least 17 SU employees had given a total of $16,700 to Maffei’s campaign.
In spending, as of Sept. 30, Buerkle had put $852,532 into her campaign. Among her largest expenses: $53,711 for fundraising consulting from DeLullo & Associates, a consulting firm for top Republican political campaigns and conservative organizations in Alexandria, Va.; $34,801 was spent on postage, printing and direct mail; $27,400 to David Ray, Buerkle’s campaign manager, for management consulting since March 1; and $25,040 to Mooney Marketing Group, a Syracuse marketing communications group, for radio ads and radio slots.
Despite its importance in promoting a campaign’s message, money doesn’t drive the decisions of candidates, said SU political science professor Stonecash. This is because groups give to candidates who are sympathetic to them and reinforces loyalties, he said. Stonecash added: “It doesn’t buy any outcomes.”
(Jon Harris is a senior with dual majors in magazine journalism and political science.)
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