To finance his race for Onondaga County court judge, Democrat Gordon Cuffy is counting on individual named donors who gave $250 or less.
As of reports filed Oct. 5, those donors accounted for 26 percent – or $12,480 of Cuffy’s total campaign funds, according to reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections.
That makes sense for judges, said Kristi Andersen, a Syracuse University political scientist. “I would tend to think that they get more contributions from individuals,” said Andersen. She added, “It’s a lot about who you reach out to and who your connections are.”
Cuffy, the attorney for Onondaga County, faces Republican Tom Miller, the Fayetteville village justice. The two are vying for one vacant judgeship. The seat became available after Judge William Walsh retired in December.
The election is Nov. 6.
Here are some highlights of Cuffy’s campaign funds, according to the New York State Board of Elections:
- Between May and Oct. 4, Cuffy had raised a total of $48,316.
- Of that, 70 percent – or $33,325 – came from named individual donors.
- 10 percent – or $4,950 – came from labor unions.The largest union donations were from IBEW Local 43 and Iron Workers Local 60, who both donated a total of $2,000.
- 10 percent – or $5,025 – came from other political figures. Those include $575 from Sam Laguzza, a former Democratic Onondaga County legislator; $1,000 from state Sen. David Valesky, D-Oneida; $1,000 from Republican Joanie Mahoney, the Onondaga County executive; $500 from Democrat Stephanie Miner, the mayor of Syracuse; $250 from Assemblyman Bill Magnarelli, D-Syracuse; $200 from Tom Buckel, a former Democratic Onondaga County legislator; and $1,500 from John Mannion, husband of Mayor Stephanie Miner.
- 12 percent – or $6,000 – came from lawyers. The largest donations were $1,000 each from the law firms of Hancock Estabrook; Mackenzie Hughes ; and Hiscock and Barclay.
As for his support of Cuffy, Mannion says Cuffy’s experience makes him the better candidate. “He is currently the county attorney, which makes him the top lawyer in the county,” said Mannion. He added: “Gordon is tough.”
One of Cuffy’s contributors is Mary Helen Foster of Cicero. She contributed $300 to Cuffy’s campaign, she said, because she’s known him for several years. “He’s an outstanding sort of guy,” said Foster.
For his campaign, Cuffy has spent a total of $13,790. That includes 52 percent – or $7,165 – paid to printing companies and 6 percent – or $875–– spent on postal expenses. As of Oct. 5, he had $34,526 on hand.
Campaign finance reports filed Oct. 5 show that Cuffy’s opponent, Miller, had $93,000 on hand. Cuffy downplayed that difference. “It’s about how many votes you get. It’s nice to have the money, but votes determine who wins,” said Cuffy. He’s still fundraising, he said.
“We still need money,” said Cuffy. “We’re trying to get the word out there.”
(Alexandra Montgomery is a senior with dual majors in broadcast journalism and political science.)
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