17th Council District Campaign Finance: Follow The Money
The Bronx Chronicle
By Michael Benjamin
As the special election to fill the vacancy of former Bronx Council Member Maria del Carmen Arroyo draws nearer, The Bronx Chronicle decided to review the Campaign Finance Board (CFB) disclosure reports of each candidate who will appear on the ballot.
We found some interesting nuggets of information in each of those reports. Of the six remaining candidates who will be on the ballot next Tuesday, Julio Pabon has the greatest number of contributors (293) who gave an average of $54 (the lowest average donation).
Today, the Salamanca campaign received a public funds payment of $36,732, which is larger than the $34,741 disbursement the CFB made to Rev. J. Loren Russell last week.
Although candidates Carlton Curry, Helen Foreman-Hines and Amanda Septimo participated in the CFB program and submitted disclosure reports, they saw their fledgling campaigns end on February 8 when the NYC Board of Elections ruled them off the special election ballot.
New York City’s matching funds program provides public funds to participating candidates at a rate of $6-to-$1 for contributions from City residents. For special elections the match applies to the first $87 contributed, for a maximum of $522 in public funds per contributor.
