One hundred dollars.
That’s about .2 percent of the money Republican James DiStefano has raised in his campaign for the New York State Senate seat in the 49th District.
But for Herbert Silvestri, it’s a big political message.
“I’m not a rich man, but I parcel out my money where I think it will do the most good,” he said. Silvestri is among the 80 individual donors to DiStefano’s state senate campaign.
James DiStefano is running against Democratic incumbent David Valesky. The district is made up of parts of Oneida, Onondaga, Madison and Cayuga counties. The election is Nov. 4.
Although DiStefano has received 109 donations in all, he trails behind his opponent in fundraising.
Here’s a look at DiStefano’s fundraising, from reports filed with the state Board of Elections.
- As of September 21st, DiStefano had raised $48,859.
- That’s about a quarter of Democratic incumbent Senator David Valesky’s $202,591, which he’s raised since January 1st of this year.
- 73 percent of DiStefano’s donors are individuals.
- 70 percent —or 77 donations -are $200 or less.
- 10 donations came from corporations.
- He has spent $32,053 so far. That’s about 66 percent of what he raised.
- 68 percent of that money was spent on literature and postage.
DiStefano attributes his fundraising from individuals — especially those giving $200 or less — to what he calls his “affiliation with people instead of corporations.”
He described his campaign as “local and grassroots” and said his money comes from those who know him, like family and friends. That’s the main reason why he trails in fundraising, he said, because his opponent is the incumbent and gets money from larger donors. This does put him behind when it comes to getting his name out because the cost of radio and television is expensive, DiStefano said.
But he suggests his opponent is also at a disadvantage this year. “Whoever is running for office is competing with hundreds of billions of dollars being spent on the presidential campaign and it dominates it, it just so pervasive over everything,” DiStefano said.
“Us small-town politicians just try to squeeze a word in here or there,” DiStefano said.
For his part, donor Silvestri considers his $100 a good investment in an effective politician. Silvestri has lived for 40 years in DeWitt, where DiStefano had been a Town Supervisor from 2000 until this year.
Before DiStefano’s tenure, he said the town’s roads were in rough condition. Repeated requests for roadwork were ignored, Silvestri said, until DiStefano was elected and made sure the roads got fixed.
“He’s a man of his word, that’s Number One and he has integrity,” Silvestri said.
(Torie Wells is a junior broadcast journalism major.)
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