For his campaign bank account, Democratic incumbent Khalid Bey has raised most of his cash for re-election for Common Council District 4 from individuals.
That’s according to a campaign finance report that Democrat Bey’s campaign made available to Democracywise late evening of Oct. 31. As of Nov. 3, the report does not show up on the website of the New York State Board of Elections, to which candidates are required to report their fundraising. The state’s website shows only a report filed in July. Missing are reports due Oct. 4 and Oct. 25.
Bey’s campaign finance reports became an issue after Tom Dadey, chairman of the Onondaga Republican Committee, accused some Democrats of not filing campaign finances required by the state, as reported by The Post-Standard.
It’s unclear why the reports are not on the state board of elections website. On Oct. 31, Bey’s campaign treasurer, Katherine Tuttle, told Democracywise that she had in fact filed the reports on Oct. 21. As of Nov. 1, a spokesperson for the state board of elections said the reports had not been received.
Between Jan. 3 and Oct. 21, Bey had received 78 of his 88 donations from individuals, according to a report Tuttle provided to Democracywise. That’s $8,571 – or 75 percent – of his total contributions.
For the Nov. 5 election, Bey is facing Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins for a rematch. In 2011, Bey beat Hawkins by fewer than 100 votes.
District 4 includes the central portion of the city including the downtown, Brighton, Southwest, University Hill and University neighborhoods. Of the district’s 13,676 total voters, 8,778 – or 64 percent – are Democrats; 1,141 – or 8 percent – are Republicans; and the Green Party has 117 registered voters, or less than 1 percent.
Here’s a look at Bey’s campaign finances, from his report provided to Democracywise and from the state election board reports:
- In early January 2013, Bey kicked off his campaign with $1,947 cash on hand.
- As of Nov. 3, Tuttle’s report to Democracywise showed Bey had raised $11,421 from Jan. 3 to Oct. 21, 2013. In comparison, Bey’s reports to the state showed he had raised only $3,344 during that period.
- Of the $8,571 he received from individuals, 42 percent – or $4,825 –came from named individuals.
- 33 percent – or $3,746 – of the $8,571 came from individuals who gave less than $100. New York state law allows donations lower than $100 to be reported without giving the donor’s name. By contrast from the state’s July report, Bey had raised $2,400 from named donors and $594 from unnamed contributors.
- Another 13 percent – or $1,500 – came from labor unions. The SEUI 1199 United Healthcare Workers in Syracuse contributed $1,000, according to Tuttle’s report. The other – $500 – came from 267 Local Plumbers and Steamfitters of Syracuse.
- The remaining 11 percent – or $1,200 – came from three corporate donations, according to Tuttle’s report.
Early in his campaign, one of Bey’s single largest donations – $700 – came from the Sound Garden second-hand music store in his district. The owner, Bryan Burkert, had threatened to close the store after a new city ordinance prevented it from selling some used CDs and DVDs. Burkert credits Bey with resolving the dispute, allowing the Sound Garden to remain in Syracuse.
“We tried to work with the city for a long time; it just wouldn’t work out. The law wasn’t going to change, and we had to go,” said Burkert. “Khalid took charge. He went to the mayor’s office and solved everything, really within 24 hours.”
As of Nov. 3, Bey had spent $1,413 – mostly on office supplies, according to the state reports. From Tuttle’s report, Bey had spent $10,412 – primarily on postage, including lawn signs and mailing cards.
Going into the Nov. 5 election, Bey had $1,408 on hand, as provided to Democracywise by Tuttle.
(Elizabeth Beeson is graduate student in broadcast and digital journalism.)
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