Campaign spending in the race for New Haven City Hall passed the $1 million mark this month, according to the three major candidates’ most recent round of campaign finance filings.
Incumbent Mayor John DeStefano Jr., Republican mayoral candidate Joel Schiavone ’58 and state Sen. Martin Looney, the man DeStefano beat in the Sept. 11 Democratic primary, had raised $1,014,920 as of Oct. 11. The New Haven Register reported Thursday that the amount is a new record for a New Haven mayoral contest.
As of the filing date, DeStefano had raised $557,540, much of which he spent in his hard-fought primary battle against Looney; Schiavone had raised $180,440.
DeStefano’s fund-raising efforts slowed dramatically in the month after the primary. Since Sept. 11, Schiavone raised about $22,000, far more than DeStefano’s $420.
October’s filings show that little has changed in terms of who is giving to whom since the last round of filings in July.
DeStefano received heavy support from city employees and city contractors, while Schiavone received most of his money from donors who live outside New Haven. Both Schiavone and DeStefano received money from Yale professors and staff members.
–James Collins