Kearns Needs Money

Today was an important day in the “race” to be the next Mayor of Buffalo.  It’s the day the July 2009 Periodic Campaign Finance Disclosure Reports are published by the New York State Board of Elections.  As a campaign junkie, report filings get me as excited as Navin Johnson on phone book delivery day.

Aside from miraculous upsets, the guy with the most money in the bank is usually a stone cold leadpipe lock to win an election.  So, with Mickey Kearns’ chances already in doubt, I was interested to see if he could shake loose some sheckels from the Buffalo hoi polloi for his Mayoral campaign.  After reviewing his finances, I think the answer is a resounding “no”.

His July Periodic summary shows that Kearns was able to raise $82,919.17 in cash and “in-kind donations”.  Of that $82,919.17, Kearns spent $66,925.23 which leaves him with $15,993.94 to fight the remainder of the primary against Mayor Byron Brown.  Of course, he’ll raise more money in the months ahead, but his poor showing thus far and the general perception that he’s in over his head will not help future fundraising efforts.

Kearns raised about $31K in individual donations, $2,750 in corporate donations, $2,900 in union money, roughly $35K of in-kind donations and a transfer of $11,500 from his Common Council warchest which is now in the red to the tune of $2500.

The money is tight because no one wants to throw money at a candidate who lacks a serious chance of winning nor do they want to get on the bad side of Mayor Brown’s steamroller political machine.  Byron Brown’s filing has not yet made public on the NY Board of Elections site, but it is estimated he has in excess of $1,000,000 on hand.  Brown’s January 2009 periodic report showed a balance of over $750K and he has been holding frequent, big ticket fundraisers ever since.

If I’m Mickey Kearns, I’m praying that Jim Heaney at The Buffalo News finds a meatier Byron Brown scandal than the One Sunset story.  Mickey’s only chance at victory comes from a total implosion by the Brown campaign.