Published: July 24, 2008 05:12 pm            

THURSDAY: Campaign finance check in (5:12 p.m.)

As we near the Sept. 9 Democratic primary for the 61 State Senate district, campaign contributions are rolling in for the three contenders.

But as the race drags on, the gaps between first, second and third best fundraisers are widening.

Former boxer Joe Mesi is way out in front, raising nearly $112,000 since declaring his candidacy in March. That tops Erie County Legislator Michele Iannello’s $32,335 by a wide margin and leaves Amherst town councilman Dan Ward’s $9,601 in the dust.

Mesi’s gotten plenty of contractors, construction companies and real estate firms to open up their wallets, with most contributing at least $1,000. Legislature Chairwoman Lynn Marinelli has transferred only $160 from her campaign to Mesi’s, but she’s also lent him her endorsement which could prove much more valuable.

He’s also taken out three $10,000 loans, from Town of Tonawanda Councilman John Bargnesi, his brother James Bargnesi and Grand Island developer Darin Hughes.

A bone of contention has been Iannello’s claim that Mesi is receiving funds from former County Executive Joel Giambra. Giambra contributed $11,000 to Citizens for Fiscal Integrity between May and September 2006 and was the last person to put money in that political action committees pot. The group hasn’t filed any reports since 2005, but this year chipped in $3,000 to support Mesi. While the group was by no means funded solely by Giambra, the lack of regular reporting on its finances does raise some questions.

For Iannello’s part, she has been raising some big bank from Buffalo’s law crowd and tacking on smaller contributions from local unions like the Building and Construction Trades Council of Buffalo, which has delivered $850 so far. While the unions might be giving less than $1,000 each, the support they can rally through their organization is not something to be overlooked.

Falling far behind, Ward has pulled in under $10,000 total and spent only $2,000 on mailings and literature for the race. His largest donation by far came courtesy of Buffalo lawyer Richard Woll, who ran unsuccessfully for the senate seat in 2006 and rolled the $2,990 balance of his campaign chest from that year into Ward’s pocketbook.

In the mean time, Republican Erie County Legislator Michael Ranzenhofer is unopposed on his side of the ballot and has raised nearly $150,000. Ranzenhofer has already spent more than Iannello’s entire fundraising effort on printing campaign literature and public relations and nearly surpasses Ward’s expenditures paying for postage alone.

Contact reporter Daniel Pye at 693-1000, ext. 158.

        

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