The Rye GOP ticket continues to maintain a sizable fundraising lead, bringing in over $50,000 — more than three times as much as their Democratic rivals — ahead of November’s City Council election, state filings show.
Republicans collected a total of $51,274 in campaign contributions from a total of 95 donors, according to the latest financial disclosures filed with the state Board of Elections on Oct. 3. The total reflects an increase of $25,049 and 43 additional donors since the last filing in July, nearly doubling the GOP’s campaign haul — with the average contribution rising to $540 from $504.
“We currently have raised over three times as much money as the other campaigns, and are very grateful for those that have joined our campaign by donating,” said Republican mayoral candidate Bill Henderson. “We continue to see strong support for the ‘All In For Rye’ team and our message of bringing new, thoughtful, and non-partisan leadership to Rye government.”
Thirty people donated $1,000 to the All in 4 Rye campaign, the maximum allowable contribution, while Henderson and his running mates James Fee, Robin Jovanovich, and Maria Shuck, gave about $7,000 in total to their own campaign.
Top donors included former GOP party chairs Anthony Piscionere ($1,000) and Elaine DiConstanzo ($1,000), and former mayor Edward Dunn ($1,000). Twenty contributions came from outside Rye, according to the filings.
The Democratic slate, meanwhile, continues to run a distant second, raising approximately $16,500 from 48 donors — 14 contributions came from outside the city — at an average of about $344 per donation, state filings show.
Six people donated $1,000 to the Democrats’ campaign, including Maarten Kruijtzer, a heavyweight in the craft beer industry, Elizabeth Shah-Hosseini, the former vice president of the Rye Country Day School Board of Trustees, and Cynthia Kuster, the wife of Sustainable Westchester co-chair Jim Kuster.
Although the latest filing marks an increase of $12,649 over the Democrats’ fundraising totals of just $3,851 in July, the full ticket including mayoral candidate Josh Nathan and council candidates Amy Kesavan, James Ward, and Marion Anderson, barely outperformed independent mayoral candidate Rick McCabe, who raised $13,335 on his own, the filings show.
It is unclear how much Anderson, who is running her fundraising campaign separately through the Rye City Democratic Committee, has raised. The committee contributed $216.75 to the ticket and transferred $1,900, the amount left over following Ward’s uncontested council run last year, according to committee chairwoman Danielle Tagger-Epstein.
The committee had yet to file its updated financial numbers with the state Board of Elections, as of Tuesday.
Nathan expressed optimism despite the lower fundraising totals. He said the campaign has brought in “enthusiastic supporters” from every corner of the city, after knocking on 2,000 doors and making over 3,000 phone calls to get out the vote. He also credited the support of the Democratic committee for providing the ticket with the only “well-funded party infrastructure” in the race.
“Rye Democrats are united behind our ticket and have the momentum entering the home stretch,” Nathan added. “Rye voters are hearing our message of neighborhood preservation, community engagement, and long-term planning and they like what they hear.”
McCabe, meanwhile, secured 44 donors, up from just the 12 donors he reported in July, with an average contribution of $304. He collected $9,505 in campaign donations since his first filing ($3,830). Just 21 of McCabe’s donors came from within Rye, including former Councilwoman Carolina Johnson ($500), Friends of Rye Town Park President Diana Page ($1,000), and Councilwoman Julie Souza ($1,000). He also loaned $1,005 to his campaign.
“I’m encouraged to have that support financially and in others ways,” McCabe said. “It’s not the only part of the campaign. With a few weeks to go there’s still more work to do.”
McCabe was the last entry into the mayor’s race. His candidacy was only certified by the Westchester Board of Elections on June 17.
The fundraising totals represent the second round of required financial disclosures for this year’s November election. The final filing ahead of Election Day is scheduled for Oct. 24.
Election Day is Nov. 4, with early voting slated to begin on Oct. 25.
