Jan 6 – Follow The Money – What percentage of the 2009 campaign contributions for each of the elected city councillors came from people with a Cambridge address? Here are the percentages:
| Henrietta Davis – 90% Craig Kelley – 88% Leland Cheung – 74% |
Sam Seidel – 56% David Maher – 54% Denise Simmons – 51% |
Tim Toomey – 45% Ken Reeves – 28% Marjorie Decker – 24% |
Information based on data from the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF)
Addendum: The OCPF data reveals some other interesting things such as which candidates received campaign donations in excess of the individual annual limit of $500. Here are the apparent excesses:
| Candidate | Donor | Annual Amount |
| Marjorie Decker | Asbestos Workers Local 6 | $750 |
| Marjorie Decker | Carpenters Local Union No. 33 | $800 |
| Marjorie Decker | Anne DiGiovanni | $1000 |
| Marjorie Decker | John DiGiovanni | $1000 |
| Marjorie Decker | IUPAT District Council #35 | $1250 |
| Marjorie Decker | New England Regional Council of Carpenters | $1000 |
| Marjorie Decker | Sheet Metal Workers Local #17 | $2750 |
| David Maher | National Association of Government Employees | $750 |
| Kenneth E. Reeves | Muirann Glenmullen | $750 |
| Kenneth E. Reeves | Kelly Higgins | $1000 |
| Kenneth E. Reeves | Joyce Naggar | $1000 |
| Kenneth E. Reeves | Stuart Rothman | $600 |
| Kenneth E. Reeves | Fred Swanson | $600 |
| Kenneth E. Reeves | John Toulopoulos | $600 |
| Sam Seidel | Phyllis Seidel | $1000 |
Perhaps a refund or two may be in order, or maybe there’s some explanation for some of these. Here’s the data (zipped Excel file) for anyone who wants to go fishing: 2009contributions.zip. Corrections, explanations, or interesting discoveries are enthusiastically welcome. There may still be a few more 2009 donations to be recorded, but it’s all courtesy of the OCPF. — Robert Winters