Mayor Nutter diving back into fund-raising pool
With his first budget practically behind him, Mayor Nutter is turning his attention to other money matters - raising reelection funds.
With his first budget practically behind him, Mayor Nutter is turning his attention to other money matters - raising reelection funds.
Inside the Franklin Institute three weeks from today, Nutter will hold his first political fund-raiser since becoming mayor less than five months ago. His hoped-for take for the three-hour fete: $1 million.
"I have a political committee. I'm a political person, and if you have an opportunity to do some fund-raising, that's what you do," Nutter said yesterday.
In this world of 365-day-a-year fund-raising, it's hardly unusual to seek dollars, even in years in which candidates, such as Nutter, have no election. City Council members James F. Kenney and Blondell Reynolds Brown held separate events in the last few weeks. Councilman Frank DiCicco has scheduled a fund-raiser at the end of this month.
In Nutter's case, it's a chance to capitalize on his popularity and restock his war chest with dollars to donate to state and local candidates he favors, in Philadelphia as well as its suburbs and elsewhere.
"Michael clearly is already someone of rising influence and, like it or not, the way officials influence is to contribute to campaigns," said Leslie Ann Miller, former counsel to Gov. Rendell, who cochairs Nutter's finance committee with Mount Airy banker Jay Goldstein. "Michael certainly will use these funds wisely to help individuals who can in turn help him with his regional agenda."
Given the constraints of the city budget, Miller said, Nutter may also dip into his campaign account "to fund some of his own prioritized initiatives."
Invites went out this week for the June 5 event, which Miller said was scheduled well after last month's Pennsylvania presidential primary and "before everyone goes down the Shore and scatters."
For individuals, the cost is $1,000 a head. Members of the host committee sponsoring the reception are asked to raise at least $7,000 apiece.
And while Miller said a key objective was to build up funds to donate to others, the invitation letter suggests otherwise.
"Last year, Mayor Nutter faced an opponent that put $8 million of his own money to finance his campaign," the letter said, referring to one of Nutter's rivals in last year's mayoral primary, millionaire businessman Tom Knox. "The mayor must start raising money now to make sure that he has the resources to face whatever the opposition throws at him next time."
While Knox self-financed most of his campaign, Nutter surprised political observers by showing he had a knack for raising funds - nearly $8 million between the primary and general elections.
To be sure, Nutter's fund-raising strategies are also guided by city campaign finance rules. For one thing, individuals can contribute no more than $2,600 each this year, while political committees can give only up to $10,600.
For another, the rules limit the mayor to raising no more than $250,000 in total from political committees in a nonelection year.
