Paul Massey campaign announces $1.6M fundraising haul

Paul Massey’s mayoral campaign announced Friday that it had raised an impressive haul during its first filing period, the details of which will be published by the New York City Campaign Finance Board next week.

The campaign said that when the Finance Board publishes the fundraising totals Tuesday, it will show Massey raised $1.6 million, a figure that doesn’t include funds that Massey personally donated to his war chest.

“I’m grateful for the significant support I have received and am energized for the 10 months ahead,” Massey [TRDataCustom], a Republican, said in prepared statements. “I have already hired a top-notch team, built a robust campaign infrastructure and we will compete aggressively for every vote in every borough.”

The $1.6 million haul is an impressive sum that should lend legitimacy and add momentum to Massey’s under-the-radar campaign. The Cushman & Wakefield executive will not participate in the city’s matching-funds program. That means that he won’t be held to the spending limits of competitors who do participate in the program, but that he will have to do more funds privately to compete.

As of the last filing deadline in July, incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio had raised $2.24 million for his 2017 run.

The Massey campaign said it saw donations spike significantly after the candidate secured the Independence Party of New York’s nomination on Jan. 5, thus ensuring his name will appear on the ballot in November.

When the campaign finance reports are published Tuesday, they will reveal the names of Massey’s donors and the bundlers working to solicit campaign dollars, which are expected to rely heavily on figures in the real estate industry.

Campaign spokesperson Bill O’Reilly said that up until this point campaign funds have mostly been spent on building the operation’s infrastructure, and spending on things like campaign ads is still somewhat down the line.

“It’s like Abraham Lincoln said: ‘If you’ve got three hours to cut down a tree, spend two hours sharpening the axe,’” he told The Real Deal.