The mayoral fundraising numbers for June and July are in, and unlike the position 6 race they indicate an all-out sprint to the (primary) finish line. Three of the major candidates’ campaign accounts are in the red.

They also show a distinct case of the haves and the have-nots. In the haves column: Greg Nickels, who has brought in $510,000 and spent $470,000; and Joe Mallahan, who has raised $320,000 (mostly from his own wallet) and spent $355,000, leaving him $35,000 in the hole.

The rest of the pack is left to contend with much smaller budgets. Jan Drago has raised $101,000 and spent $63,000. Mike McGinn brought in $58,000 and spent $59,000 (his campaign is at -$1,000), and James Donaldson raised $34,000 and spent $43,000 ($-9,000).

Something also worth taking a look at is the amount of money each campaign has spent on consultants and staff in the last two months.

Nickels: $54,000
Mallahan: $41,000
Donaldson: $18,000
Drago: $16,000
McGinn: $321.99

You can find all their financial records here: Nickels, Mallahan, Drago, Donaldson, McGinn, and so on.

UPDATE: Upon further review, I discovered that Mike McGinn’s campaign did in fact report paying a campaign staffer. They spent $321.99 for a scheduler in the June/July C4 report. The payment description is simply listed as “June” and I did not immediately recognize that as a staff payment. Secondly, it should be made clear that the consultant payments I took into account were strictly for retainer payments. Those made for specific projects were not included in the chart. I regret the error.

That said, spending $321.99 a month on campaign staff in a mayoral campaign in one of America’s major cities may as well be considered spending nothing.

9 replies on “The Haves and the Have-nots in the Mayor’s Race”

  1. McGinn’s work at the community level in Seattle has paid off. Over the years, working with various neighborhood & sustainability groups he has impressed a lot of grassroots organizers, campaign planners, etc. so he’s been able to put together a strong team of experts willing to donate long hours to help get McGinn elected.

    His volunteers aren’t just envelope stuffers, although he’s got a lot of those too.

  2. Wow, very impressive to see McGinn has spent $0 on consultants and staff yet he’s right in the thick of the race and picking up steam. That says a lot about his knowledge of the issues, ability to motivate and manage people and is just really freaking cool.

  3. i’m guessing it’s mallahan and nickels, with mallahan dumping a bunch of $ into the race and getting some donations from the ABG crowd. mcginn is interesting, and certainly fun b/c he’s good at mixing it up, but Mallahan would be a better Mayor. No way McGinn’s pinko schtick gets elected here.

  4. I’ve met a few of the volunteers with McGinn’s campaign and I admit they can talk circles around me when it comes to campaign issues, how to get his message out, and how to react positively and quickly to keep things on target — i’m simply blown away by them. Having your ears perk up when you see the $0 McGinn has spent on consultants should signal something rather astonishing: he’s working his campaign grass-roots style, pulling in remarkable and gifted talent from people who have seen him lead and who believe in him and his vision for Seattle.

  6. I’m unconvinced that Mallahan will help this city progress in a meaningful direction. From what I’ve heard and read he honestly just seems like a little bit more business-minded Nickels. And I really don’t think thats what we need right now.

    McGinn on the other hand has an encompassing vision for Seattle’s future. If he can get people so motivated for his campaign think how much he will be able to do as Mayor. From my experience with Great City he truly believes in the power of others and I know that as Mayor he will provide funds and services to neighborhoods to facilitate them with the improvements that they want and care about. As an environemntalist instead of a business leader, McGinn’s bottom-line comes down to quality of life. He truly wants every citizen to have access to a healthy, sustainable way of life. McGinn is the future of this city.

  7. If Mallahan manages to buy his way through the primary with sound bites and TV commercials, I don’t think he has a shot in the general election because of his company’s anti-union policies and poor record on LGBT issues.

    Those are big issues for us here and they weren’t important enough to Mallahan for him to try and improve the policies at T-Mobile — where he still works.

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