Boston Mayoral Candidates Draw Distinctly Different Donors

3 years ago 261

Elections|Donations to Boston’s mayoral candidates are coming from precise antithetic places.

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/02/us/elections/donors-boston-mayoral-race.html

Ellen Barry

Nov. 2, 2021, 1:07 p.m. ET

Nov. 2, 2021, 1:07 p.m. ET

Michelle Wu’s run  has received astir   19 percent of idiosyncratic  contributions from donors extracurricular  of Massachusetts.
Credit...Philip Keith for The New York Times

BOSTON — The women moving for politician of Boston, the metropolis councilors Michelle Wu and Annissa Essaibi George, person each raised superior money, totaling $2.15 cardinal and $1.94 million, respectively. But if you look astatine who is giving them that money, the differences are stark.

Out-of-state donors. Ms. Wu’s candidacy has attracted nationalist attention, with nearly 19 percent of idiosyncratic contributions to her campaign, totaling much than $400,000, coming from extracurricular of Massachusetts. Out-of-state donations marque up lone astir 7 percent of Ms. Essaibi George’s haul.

Environmental groups. Progressives, who erstwhile denounced the power of ace PACs, are present making vigorous usage of them, said Paul D. Craney, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Fiscal Alliance. The Green Advocacy Project, an biology radical based successful Palo Alto, Calif., has contributed $250,000 to 2 ace PACs supporting Ms. Wu, who has been starring successful polls.

Police officers. Ms. Essaibi George, who was endorsed by the city’s erstwhile constabulary commissioner, William Gross, has received more than 430 donations, totaling much than $150,000, from constabulary officers and firefighters, according to authorities records. By contrast, Ms. Wu, who has pushed for cuts to the constabulary budget, has received lone 13.

Developers and builders. The candidates diverge sharply connected development, with Ms. Wu favoring the instrumentality of rent power and the dissolution of the city’s readying agency. In the past weeks, Ms. Essaibi George has raised much than $38,000 from executives astatine gathering firms, the Boston Business Journal found. Ms. Wu took successful little than fractional that overmuch from specified sources.

A blimpish sneaker magnate. Jim Davis, the president of the sneaker institution New Balance, has contributed $1,095,000 to a ace PAC supporting Ms. Essaibi George. Mr. Davis is amended known for backing Republicans, having contributed astir $400,000 to Trump Victory, a ace PAC supporting Donald J. Trump, the erstwhile president, successful 2016.

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