4 JANUARY 23, 2020 RIDGEWOOD TIMES WWW.QNS.COM
Crowley leads BP candidates in fundraising
BY MAX PARROTT
MPARROTT@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
With just over two months to go
before the Queens borough
president special election
on March 24, disclosures published by
the New York City Campaign Finance
Board (NYCCFB) last week provided
a fi scal snapshot of where each of the
candidates stand.
The filings singled out one clear
breadwinner. Out of the $284,157 that
the candidates have collectively raked
in over the past six months, former
Ridgewood Councilwoman Elizabeth
Crowley topped the fi eld in fundraising.
She also boasted the most cash on hand
out of the group.
Councilman Donovan Richards has
done the second most fundraising over
the past six months, but has only raised
about half as much as Crowley.
Councilman Jimmy Van Bramer, who
abruptly announced Tuesday morning
that he will be dropping out of the race due
to family circumstances, is a close second
to Crowley when it comes to cash on hand,
but only after he transferred nearly
$200,000 he had left over from his 2017
City Council run. He will leave the race
with $203,185 worth of campaign cash.
The fundraising totals compiled by
the New York City Campaign Finance
Board over the past six months from
greatest to least are as follows:
• Crowley has raised $104,797 since
July 15 and has $219,894 to spend.
• Richards has raised $58,384 since
July 15 and has $126,758 to spend.
• Retired NYPD sergeant Anthony
Miranda has raised $39,970 since July
15 and has $13,768 to spend.
• Dao Yin, a robotics company executive,
has raised $32,466 and has $8,581
to spend.
• Councilman Costa Constantinides
raised $19,507 since July 15 and has
$14,348 to spend.
• Former Assistant District Attorney
Jim Quinn raised $11,498 prior to the
deadline, but reportedly has burned
through it all. According to the fi lings,
he’s in the red by $632.
• Mapmaker Danniel Maio cut
himself a check for $175 and spent $90
of it, leaving him $85 in his campaign
coff ers.
Since all eight candidates have opted
in to the NYCCFB’s matching program,
they have agreed not to accept a donation
larger than $750. Since the legislation
dictates that they receive 8-1 match for all
donations under this limit, several candidates
have had to refund large chunks
of their donations.
A few notably large donations are
included in those refunds, which date
back before the City Council revised
the matching program limits for special
elections over the summer.
Richards had to refund a $4,100 of a
donation to Taxpayers for Aff ordable
New York, a Real Estate Board of New
York-affi liated PAC.
Asked for comment, Richards’ spokesperson
did not remark on the real estate
affi liation, although the councilman has
previously stated publicly that he doesn’t
believe that his integrity would ever be
compromised by donations from the real
estate industry — which make up nearly
30 percent of his donations, according to
the Real Deal.
“To ensure compliance with the
campaign finance board, the excess
was returned to the contributor,” the
spokesperson said.
Several of Crowley’s largest refunds
went back to contributors associated
with J.T. Magen & Company, a construction
fi rm that has traditionally relied
on union labor. On Jan. 10, 2019, Robert
Scheiman, the company’s principal and
Maurice Regan, its CEO gave the campaign
$3,950. Anticipating the matching
program limits, Crowley gave back a total
of $6,400 between those donations.
Crowley distinguished the construction
related donations from the real
estate industry, which she has vowed
not to take donations from. She said the
connection goes back to her union days.
“I’m proud of my roots,” Crowley told
QNS. “Not only was my union job making
sure that I got paid a fair wage, my
friends who worked with me 20 years
ago are still my supporters.”
Constantinides had to refund $3,600 to
Sal Lucchese, a manager at Astoria-based
developer The L Group, who gave $4,350
to his campaign in January of 2019.
Constantinides’ spokesperson did
not comment on the donation. But in a
previous report on that contribution,
the councilman acknowledged taking
real estate donations but said that he
doesn’t take donations what he defi nes
as “Big Real Estate developers.”
The next campaign finance filing
deadline is Feb. 21.
BY BILL PARRY
BPARRY@SCHNEPSMEDIA.COM
@QNS
He was the fi rst one to launch his
candidacy for Queens borough
president back in May 2019, but
in an early morning campaign email to
his supporters Tuesday, Councilman
Jimmy Van Bramer announced he was
ending his run for the offi ce.
“My family is the reason I love this
borough and its residents; they are
the ones who instilled Queens values
in me and inspired me to be an advocate
for working families. But family
circumstances have been weighing
on me for some time, causing me to
reconsider the timing and feasibility
of this campaign,” Van Bramer wrote.
“Prioritizing my responsibilities as
a son and brother is where my attention
needs to be right now. And
so I am ending my campaign today.
While this is a difficult decision, this
is the right one for me and my family
at this time.”
Van Bramer’s campaign picked up
endorsements from Public Advocate
Jumaane Williams and progressive
stars Zephyr Teachout and Cynthia
Nixon. He had raised $17,360 since
July 15 and has $203,185 to spend.
Councilman Donovan Richards,
who had stepped up his attacks on
Van Bramer’s opposition to Amazon
HQ2 deal in Long Island City in recent
weeks, was the first to issue a
statement upon hearing Van Bramer
stepped out of the race.
“Jimmy Van Bramer has always
added breadth to the discourse on
the future of Queens and I know that
he will continue to do so,” Richards
said. “Family should always be a
priority. My thoughts are with him
and his family at this difficult time.”
Last year, Van Bramer said he had
the best Queens resume for the job.
He was born at old St. John’s Hospital
on Queens Boulevard, raised in Astoria
and attended P.S. 70 and William Cullen
Bryant High School. Aft er graduating
from St. John’s University, Van Bramer
became a community organizer and
went to work as a reporter for Lesbian
and Gay New York, which is now Gay
City News, where he brought attention
to the AIDS epidemic, bias and hate
crimes.
Van Bramer went on to serve as
chief external affairs officer of
Queens Library for a decade and
also served as president of Queens
Council on the Arts. He said those
experiences served him well when
he was elected to the City Council in
2009 representing Long Island City,
Sunnyside, Woodside and parts of
Astoria. He was appointed chairman
of the Cultural Affairs and Libraries
Committee in 2010, a position Van
Bramer is still holding now in his
third term.
QNS reached out to Van Bramer
and is awaiting a response.
“I will, of course, continue to
fight for the working people of our
Jimmy Van Bramer announced he
is stepping away from the race for
Queens borough president.
QNS fi le photo
borough and city every day on the
New York City Council and beyond,”
Van Bramer concluded in his message
to supporters. “I want to thank
all of you — our campaign’s amazing
supporters, volunteers, and donors
for your faith in me and our shared
vision to build a brighter future for
Queens.”
Elizabeth Crowley leads the Queens borough president fi eld in fundraising
and cash on hand. Photo: Max Parrott/QNS
Van Bramer drops out of borough president race
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