Silentfirecracker

10th Congressional Race October 26, 2011

After years of rumors and gossip, Assemblyman Hakeem Jeffries has taken his first steps to a Congressional run next year.

Jeffries  filed papers on September 30th, 2011 to the Federal Election Commission to run for the 10th Congressional District seat under the name “Jeffries for Congress.”

His first fundraiser was on September 17^, which was called the “Young Professionals Fundraiser for Hakeem Jeffries Exploratory Committee”.

During the event Jeffries raised a lot of money and he  now has an official campaign, instead of just an exploratory committee.  According to the September 30^th Financial Disclosure records, he has raised a total of $173,873 and has only spent $14,928.

“We are happy with the money he has raised and we are proud of the cross section of people who have donated,” said Lupe Todd, Jeffries communications director. “More then 50% of our donors have given under $100, which shows that we have a lot of support in the district.”

Todd said that Jeffries has been in Albany since 2006 where he was working hard on many legislative matters, and Congress is the next step for him. In the Assembly he has been an outspoken voice for major issues that affect his district, such as the NYPD’s Stop and Frisk Policy, Housing and Education. He is currently a member of the Committee on Banks; Housing; Correction, and seven other Committees/ Subcommittees.

Todd is not new to races in the 10th Congressional District. She used to be Congressman Ed Towns’ Communications Director.

So far, incumbent Congressman Ed Towns is the only other candidate who is officially running against Jeffries.

Towns has held this seat for 28 years and has been losing his political support over the last year. He was weakened earlier this year after he lost the race to replace his son’s District Leader seat.

The Congressman has been holding various fundraisers, including an upcoming concert on November 3^rd with Jay-Z & Kanye West, which is sold out, according to his campaign staff.

“We are not only sold out, we are over sold” said the staffer. “Even staff can’t attend the event.”

Even though Towns has always had the ability to raise enormous amounts of money with help from many generous donors, including Former President Bill Clinton, this year he has been spending almost as much money as he is raising.

According to the most recent finance records, Towns has raised $322,331 and has spent all but $11,240. Even though he is an incumbent and has shown off his fundraising skills, he has only a small fraction of money left to spend compared with Jeffries.

The big difference in fundraising in this race is not just how much is spent and raised, but where it is coming from. For Jeffries, over 97% of his donors are individuals. They are people in the district and local support. For Towns, over 54% of his money comes from Political Action Committees (PACs), mainly from Health Industries.

Although it is still early on in an election, the fundraising trend shows a bigger picture of the race. Towns is an old-fashioned incumbent who is supported by big businesses and lobbyists . He has some support in the district, but individuals have only donated $151,087, and many of those individuals are employees of companies that would gain a lot of money if he would be reelected. Of the individuals, $11,600 comes from lobbyists, and $4,800 comes from people who work for Forest City Ratner Companies, which will be building the Nets Stadium in Brooklyn, thanks to help from many politicians, like Towns.

Jeffries has raised $168,910 from individuals in a much shorter period of time. The campaign’s style is more of a grassroots style.

Another person who is often rumored to be interested in this coming race is Councilman Charles Barron. Barron has been an enemy of Towns’ for many years and has either run against him, as in 2006, or strongly supported his opponents.  So far Barron has not disclosed any financial records, which means that he has not started fundraising.

One person who will not be in this race is Kevin Powell, who has run against Towns in 2008 and 2010. According to his blog post, Powell says, “While I am still very much dedicated to the issues I raised in our campaigns, I will not be running for Congress or any other office in 2012.”