Maya McFadden and Nora Grace-Flood file photos
Lauren Garrett and Ron Gambardella: Down to two for Hamden mayoral race.
Democratic mayoral candidate Lauren Garrett outraised Republican opponent Ron Gambardella by two to one over the past three months, based on individual monetary contributions, while Gambardella narrowed the gap with a party contribution.
Garrett reported taking in $15,305 between July 1 and Sept. 30, while Gambardella collected $7,265 from individual supporters.
Gambardella’s finance filing also included a donation of $6,000 from the Republican Town Committee, bringing him to within $2,000 of her total.
Those numbers are based on documents the two campaigns filed on Tuesday, which detail the amount of money raised and spent by each candidate during the most recent three-month campaigning period. Garrett submitted additional financial disclosures on Sept. 6, seven days before the Democratic primary, which she and her slate of candidates endorsed by the Democratic Town Committee swept on Sept. 14.
Garrett and Gambardella will face off in Nov. 2’s general election.
The reports show that Garrett spent the majority of her donations on costs associated with the Democratic primary, putting nearly $19,000 towards beating incumbent Curt Leng.
Garrett began the reporting period with a balance of $8,715.99; Gambardella held a total of $58.30. Between July 1 and Sept. 6, Garrett raised another $12,055, bringing her balance up to $21,730. She then spent $18,802.48 on her primary campaign, leaving her with just $1,968.51 seven days before the primary.
Between Sept. 6 and Sept. 30, she raised an additional $3,250 from individual contributors. After spending only $166.80, she is left with a balance of $5,051.71 heading into the final few weeks preceding November’s big election.
Meanwhile, Gambardella raised $7,265 in individual contributions, plus the $6,000 granted to his personal campaign by the Republican Town Committee to independently advertise his candidacy. Including his original $58 from before July, Gambardella took in a total of $13,265 this past quarter and spent $9,459.29 on mailers and fundraisers. That means he has $3,864.01, compared to Garrett’s $5,051.71, currently left in his account.
Garrett accepted a total of 133 contributions, while Gambardella secured 46. Garrett received 86 different contributions before Sept. 6, and 47 between then and Sept. 30.
Police Commissioner Maxes Out
Sam Gurwitt file photo
Mike Iezzi, at right, Gambardella’s biggest donor, arguing with police-accountability activist Kerry Ellington at a cop commission meeting in 2019.
Thomas Breen File Photo
Garrett donor Dolan (pictured at the New Haven Road Race).
Two people gave Gambardella the maximum donation of $1,000: Mike Iezzi, chair of the Hamden Police Commission, and Cliff Podaras, who works in IT and lives in Branford. Three other individuals sent $500 to Gambardella: Thimio Zacharias, a Hamden pool installer; Dolphuss Addison, a retired plumbing salesperson who ran for council at-large in 2019 as a fiscal conservative; and Salvatore Gambardella, who is retired and lives in East Haven.
A total of four individuals gave $1,000 each to Garrett: Harry Leiser, a commercial real estate developer who lives in New London; Chad Fry, an IT Consultant from Ann Arbor, Michigan, Garrett’s hometown; Steven Lawrence, a Brooklyn filmmaker; and Carl Porto Sr., a Hamden attorney.
Six Garrett supporters gave sums of $500 or more: Louis Pressman, a retired staff person with the Connecticut General Assembly, gave $600; Vanessa Crawford, who listed herself as a Hamden “homemaker,” gave $500; Sean Grace, the chair of the DTC, invested $600; Carol Christmas, a retired postal carrier, sent in a total of $850; Michael Dolan, of the Dolan Law Firm, gave $500; and Jan Barber, a retired Hamden resident, granted Garrett $500.
I see there was no BIAS in the pictures of the candidates supporters. (Wink,wink). C'mon Paul you can do a better job at hiding your impartiality.