BUFFALO, N.Y. — On Friday, the latest campaign finance filings for the Buffalo mayoral race were revealed to the public.
2 On Your Side has poured through them to find some of the biggest takeaways.
This latest report covers July 12, 2021, through Sept. 27, 2021. The campaigns had to disclose their contributions and expenditures.
Incumbent Mayor and write-in candidate Byron Brown have more cash on hand, around $464,000. Democratic nominee and primary winner India Walton has around $360,000 on hand.
So Walton has about $100,000 less than Mayor Brown on-hand at this point in the campaign.
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Here's how much they raised and spent during this chunk of time from mid-July to Sept. 27. Byron Brown raised just over $831,000 and spent more than $555,000. India Walton raised more than $441,000 and spent more than $229,000. The Mayor has raised almost twice as much money as Walton from July 12 to Sept. 27.
Digging through the data sheets, even more, we looked at who has made the largest contributions to both campaigns. Starting with the Brown campaign, the top contributor during this time period is Arlinda Marrano with a Florida address contributing $7,797. And, several people donated $7,700 appearing in the top ten - including Kyle and Paul Ciminelli and Douglas and Norman Jemal - all well-known developers in Western New York. If you look through the list, you'll see more recognizable names in Buffalo's business community.
Checking out contributions to the Walton campaign, the top contributor is Nergesh Tejani, a donor with a Brooklyn address, donating $7,797.90. Carl Nightingale and Martha McCluskey, who list the same Buffalo address, contributed $7,797.90 and $7,797 respectively. Those are the only three contributions of more than $5,000 to Walton's campaign for this filing period.
The Mayor had 22 contributions of more than $5,000 during the same time period.
Among those donating $5,000 to Walton is Marc Panepinto, the former State Senator who pleaded guilty to a public corruption charge. And, Cynthia Nixon, the actor and activist, who lives in New York City, contributed $1,500 to the Walton campaign.
There is one more filing deadline, so we will get one more batch of campaign finance numbers on Oct. 22, 2021.
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