The Brief: Show Me the Money
Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com
For those closely watching the mayor’s race, today is pretty much Christmas: It’s the deadline for candidates to file their 2014 campaign finance reports.
All signs point to fundraising being way, way down this year compared to the 2007 mayoral election. As The Inquirer’s Chris Hepp explained last week, none of the candidates have aired TV advertisements yet and no one’s bragging about their big war chest. So we’ll find out exactly how diminished that spending is today.
But there’s a lot more to look out for: Will state Sen. Anthony Williams’ funds blow everyone else’s out of the water? Will Lynne Abraham raise enough money to do something with her name recognition? Just how behind will Jim Kenney be when he starts his mayoral campaign this week? And how much money did never-an-actual-mayoral-candidate Darrell Clarke raise? He now has the ability to play kingmaker by pouring money into incumbent Council members’ and others’ campaigns.
Check back throughout the day to see our reporting on the numbers. It should be fun.
Don’t Miss …
- Conservative talk show host Dom Giordano says Jim Kenney is “probably the most hostile leader in Philadelphia toward the suburbs.” And that’s probably as good of a reason as any for many Philadelphians to vote for him.
- Philadelphia is on track to elect its oldest mayor in nearly 60 years.
- Pennsylvania Treasurer Rob McCord announced on Friday that he is resigning immediately and planning to plead guilty to federal charges. You have to watch his video statement, in which he alternates between appearing legitimately contrite and humblebragging about his office.
On Twitter …
Campaign Finance Reporting Eve!
— Jon Geeting (@jongeeting) February 1, 2015
.@nmarzano @yiphilly @benstango bc judging a mayor bc they are older is as bad as the powers that be judging millennials for being young
— Kellan R White (@KellanWhite) February 1, 2015
@nmarzano @KellanWhite @yiphilly @benstango It's not the age that's old, it's the thinking.
— Inga Saffron (@IngaSaffron) February 1, 2015