To fund her re-election campaign, County Legislator Judy Tassone, R-Liverpool, in District 4 gets most of her money from businesses and fellow Republicans.
“Judy has raised good money for this election,” said her husband and campaign manager Bill Tassone.
Between Jan. 1 and Nov. 2, 2013, Tassone had raised $12,945, according to her campaign finance reports on the New York State Board of Elections website. Of that, 47 percent came from businesss and 22 percent from other Republicans.
For the Nov. 5 election, Tassone, 61, is running for a third term as county legislator for District 4. She faces Democratic challenger Carol Sinesi, also of Liverpool, who is making her first run for elected office.
District 4 is in the central region of Onondaga County, including Geddes, the western part of Salina, Liverpool, most of Onondaga Lake, and a small portion of the Northside of Syracuse. Of the district’s 13,676 voters, 64 percent – or 8,778 voters – are Democrat; 8 percent – or 1,141 voters – are Republicans; and 21 percent – or 2,958 – are unaffiliated with a political party.
“There’s no hard and fast rule about where it’s best to get money from. There are places where candidates usually go. They start with their own extended networks, friends, associates, then friends of those folks. It’s a snowballing effect,” said Grant Reheer, a political scientist at Syracuse University.
Here’s a snapshot of Tassone’s campaign finances, from reports filed with the New York State Board of Elections:
- Of her $12,945 total, 47 percent – or $6,074 – came from businesses.
- Her largest business donor is the Syracuse law firm of Aaron Mark Zimmerman, which gave $1,000.
- 22 percent – or $2,298 – came from nine other Republican groups. .
- Among those are $1,000 from Mac Pac, a fundraising group headed by county legislature chairman Ryan McMahon, R-Syracuse; and $1,000 from the Onondaga County Republican Committee; $250 from the PAC of state Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse.
- Her largest donations from two named individuals were $500 each from Peter E. Muserlian and Bruce Kenan.
- 14 percent – or $1,798 – came from donors who gave less than $100.
One of those is Eric Stanczyk, from Baldwinsville, who gave $50 to her campaign. He was inspired, he said, by Tassone’s work on cleaning Onondaga Lake. He praised her for “her public support of clean up of the lake.”
As of Nov. 2, the state elections board website showed Tassone had spent $10,027. She had $6,519 on cash on hand.
“The people want to hear about the issues. They don’t want to hear the campaign. This campaign has been 100 percent more positive, and more enjoyable,” Tassone said.
(Alana Heller is a junior majoring in broadcast and digital journalism.)
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