REBNY-backed City Council PAC raises $5.3M

Jobs for New York, a political action committee spearheaded by the Real Estate Board of New York and advised by a coalition of organized labor, will report $5.3 million raised in its first round of fundraising, Crain’s reported, citing a memo from the group.

The PAC said it aimed to raise $7 million to $10 million and has spent $1.4 million to date. The PAC spent $432,000 on polling and $339,074 on direct mail and has $3.8 million in cash-on-hand, according to Crain’s. The bulk of contributions have come from the real estate world, sources told Crain’s.

The group will formally file its disclosure report with the city’s Campaign Finance Board and the state Board of Elections today, and is required by law to disclose a list of donors. Endorsees, unveiled last month, are a mix of established candidates and elected officials who have the backing of their respective party organizations. The pro-labor Working Families Party has endorsed all but two.

Jobs for New York aims to make endorsements in up to 25 council races, spending unprecedented amounts in those contests. [Crain’s] –Julie Strickland