Several Penn administrators have actively donated to mayoral candidates as well as candidates for City Council.
Credit: David M. Goehring , Courtesy of David Goehring/Creative CommonsAccording to the 2014 campaign finance report released on Monday, several Penn administrators have donated to Democratic candidates seeking election in the city primary this spring.
In November, Penn’s Executive Vice President Craig Carnaroli donated $1,660 to Paul Steinke, who is a candidate for city council at-large. Two administrators from Penn’s Office of Government and Community Affairs donated to mayoral candidate Terry Gillen, who ultimately dropped out of the race in early January. OGCA Vice President Jeffrey Cooper donated a total of $575 throughout 2014, and Executive Director Dawn Maglicco Deitch also donated $100 to Gillen in June.
In addition, OGCA Director of Special Projects David B. Glancey donated $500 to City Controller Alan Butkovitz and $250 to City Council President Darrell Clarke, who were both potential candidates who ultimately decided not to run. Glancey also donated $250 to Councilman Ed Neilson in May.
The report also showed that mayoral candidates have received fewer donations on the whole than the candidates in past election cycles. Compared to recent Philadelphia mayoral elections, donations have decreased significantly. The two frontrunners in the 2007 race for Philly mayor, Nutter and U.S. Rep. Bob Brady (D-Pa.), had at this point raised $1.7 million and $500,000, respectively. In 2014, the frontrunners, State Sen. Anthony H. Williams and Former District Attorney Lynne Abraham, raised $554,106 and $195,968, respectively according to the report. However, Abraham released a voluntary campaign finance report that showed her fundraising had reached $424,677 as of Jan. 31 after receiving a large loan a few weeks prior.
In Philadelphia elections, campaign finance laws limit donations to $2,900 per individual and $11,500 per organization. Since there is still no clear frontrunner to succeed Mayor Michael Nutter, donors have remained on the sidelines.
While Williams and Abraham remain slight favorites to win the Democratic primary on May 19, other candidates aren’t too far behind.
City Councilman James Kenney raised $236,355 in 2014. Although this number might seem low compared to Williams and Abraham, Kenney will officially announced his candidacy for mayor on Wednesday, meaning his fundraising should surely spike in the next couple of weeks. Likewise, Former Court of Common Pleas Judge Nelson Diaz, who only officially announced his candidacy on Jan. 15, had $79,542 at the end of 2014.
Similar to Kenney and Diaz, other candidates are just beginning to dive into the race. Doug Oliver, Nutter’s former press secretary, only raised $1,470 in 2014, but isn’t expected to formally announce his candidacy until Saturday.
As the race enters its final few months, the rate and size of donations will surely increase. Although Williams currently holds the advantage in fundraising, any candidate has plenty of time to take the lead.
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