The booster for Republican Dale Sweetland’ campaign for Congress is the Syracuse-area real estate industry.
It has donated more to his campaign than any other industry, according to analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics in Washington, D.C. The group is a non-partisan watchdog and analyst of campaign fundraising and spending. Its analysis is at its Web site: www.opensecrets.org.
Sweetland is running for the 25th Congressional District seat. His opponents are Democrat Dan Maffei and Green Populist candidate Howie Hawkins. All are trying to succeed retiring incumbent Jim Walsh. The 25th Congressional District includes Syracuse and much of Central New York.
Some important notes on Sweetland’s fundraising from the Center for Responsive Politics:
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As of September 30th, Sweetland has raised a total of $333,933. That compares to $1,922,741 for Maffei and $90 for Hawkins.
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80 percent of Sweetland’s contributions — or $265,754 — came from individual contributions.
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Of those, 97 percent — or $131,427 — came from individuals in New York state. That compares to 64 percent — or $479,531 — for Maffei.
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Out of Sweetland’s contributions, 16 percent — or $54,768 — came from political action committees, private groups organized to elect politicians. That compares to 37 percent — or $705,538 — for Maffei.
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Almost 5 percent — or $14,450 — of Sweetlands’ contributions are from real estate companies or their employees. That compares to $40,950 for Maffei.
One of Sweetland’s real-estate contributors is Camille Aloi, a real estate broker who works for Prudential. Aloi donated $250 to Sweetland’s campaign.
“I think Sweetland’s plans are better for helping the struggling housing market.” (Camille Aloi)
Aloi would not elaborate on how they are better. She acknowledged that Sweetland is a friend of hers.
So far, Sweetland has spent $197, 261.
The election is November 4th.
For Democracywise, I’m Landon Sears.
(Landon Sears is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism.)
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