Domb, Clarke deny conspiracy to hike campaign $$ limits
Real estate mogul Alan Domb yesterday said his sole reason for running for City Council is to provide a public service after years of business success.
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/MYIMLGR6RRA4LD5CGFEU5R4VJI.jpg)
AT-LARGE CITY Council candidate and real-estate broker Allan Domb fired back at rumors that he was running to trigger the so-called "millionaire provision," as reported in the Daily News' Clout column yesterday.
Domb said he was running because he'd enjoyed great success in the city and felt he ought to give something back in the way of public service. He said that is his sole reason for running.
The provision in question doubles campaign contribution limits if any candidate puts more than $250,000 of their own money into a given race.
Multiple sources close to City Hall had whispered that the last-minute entrance of an independently wealthy candidate like Domb was, in fact, a ploy engineered by Council President Darrell Clarke to ease fundraising limits for several vulnerable incumbent Council members, including ally Bill Greenlee.
But Domb said yesterday that he hoped to raise most of his campaign money from outside sources and that he had not discussed the issue with Clarke at all.
Clarke, for his part, issued a statement calling the earlier report "complete nonsense."
"I would have been happy to tell you that beforehand if anyone had asked me for comment instead of just publishing this ridiculousness," he added, in an email.
Domb, when asked whether he would donate enough of his own money to his campaign to trigger the doubling of the cap on contributions for all candidates, said, "I haven't made that decision yet."
Political veteran and media consultant Larry Ceisler dismissed both the rumor and lingering questions about Domb's reluctance to acknowledge how much of his own money he would ultimately put into the race.
"If I was advising him, I wouldn't tip my hand either. Why tell people what you're going to spend or not going to spend?" Ceisler asked. "I think Darrell Clarke is a master of legislative strategies and Allan is a master real-estate professional, but I don't think coming up with this is in their wheelhouse."
Phone: 610-730-4333
On Twitter: @rw_briggs
Blog: philly.com/philly/news/