Follow the money….
Here’s the final tally of campaign receipts for candidates for City Council in the 2021 municipal election as well as Political Action Committees who backed candidates in the municipal election. Only late reported data and error corrections will be made after this point.
I have always found the pattern of campaign receipts to be a strong indicator of which candidates are likely to seek reelection and which candidates are pursuing this goal most aggressively. It must be emphasized that aggressive fundraising should never be misinterpreted as quality of any given candidate.
Here’s the latest account of the (a) total receipts, (b) Cambridge contributions, (c) contributions by candidate to own campaign, (d) union contributions, (e) real estate contributions (as best as I could discern), and (f) total of union and real estate money contributed over this election cycle starting from Feb 1, 2020 through Jan 31, 2022 (a full two-year election cycle) for all City Council candidates (notes: – receipts include loans from candidates to their campaigns; refunds deducted if clearly a refund):
Note to candidates and campaigns: If you feel that anything in these tables is not correct, please contact me at election2021@cambridgecivic.com to make your case. Reasonable requests only.
You can sort on any field by clicking on the field name – in increasing order on the 1st click and in decreasing order on the 2nd click.
Total Receipts
Table of reported City Council campaign receipts (Feb 1, 2020 - Jan 31, 2022 - a full two-year election cycle)Total Receipts, Cambridge Receipts, Self-funding, Unions, Real Estate
Last updated Apr 27, 5:35pm.
[Note: The figures shown for Nicola Williams required some correction due to very poor record-keeping, duplicate entries, etc. by the campaign Treasurer. There are likely still errors to be corrected.]
| Candidate (and PACs) | Receipts | Cambridge | Pct | Self | unions | Pct | Real Estate | Pct | unions+RE | Pct |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toner, Paul | $76,707.00 | $38,980.00 | 50.8% | $5,025.00 | $5,600.00 | 7.3% | $11,625.00 | 15.2% | $17,225.00 | 22.5% |
| Zondervan, Quinton | $71,129.90 | $52,490.18 | 73.8% | $17,000.00 | $500.00 | 0.7% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $500.00 | 0.7% |
| Simmons, E. Denise | $67,899.99 | $32,772.00 | 48.3% | $0.00 | $6,100.00 | 9.0% | $18,200.00 | 26.8% | $24,300.00 | 35.8% |
| McGovern, Marc C. | $66,284.21 | $33,925.00 | 51.2% | $0.00 | $10,350.00 | 15.6% | $13,175.00 | 19.9% | $23,525.00 | 35.5% |
| Williams, Nicola A. | $58,415.40 | $43,775.21 | 74.9% | $7,780.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| Skeadas, Theodora | $48,374.40 | $8,321.00 | 17.2% | $3.90 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| Mallon, Alanna | $41,596.02 | $25,514.57 | 61.3% | $136.00 | $5,500.00 | 13.2% | $3,850.00 | 9.3% | $9,350.00 | 22.5% |
| Siddiqui, Sumbul | $40,070.03 | $28,310.43 | 70.7% | $0.00 | $3,000.00 | 7.5% | $500.00 | 1.2% | $3,500.00 | 8.7% |
| Carlone, Dennis | $39,358.47 | $29,596.05 | 75.2% | $0.00 | $750.00 | 1.9% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $750.00 | 1.9% |
| Nolan, Patricia M. | $37,491.00 | $27,082.00 | 72.2% | $0.00 | $1,000.00 | 2.7% | $499.00 | 1.3% | $1,499.00 | 4.0% |
| Azeem, Burhan | $37,402.10 | $24,925.10 | 66.6% | $14,000.00 | $500.00 | 1.3% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $500.00 | 1.3% |
| CCC - IEPAC | $32,855.00 | $32,855.00 | 100.0% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| Sobrinho-Wheeler, Jivan | $30,977.11 | $15,722.08 | 50.8% | $2,177.88 | $3,250.00 | 10.5% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $3,250.00 | 10.5% |
| McGuirk, Joe | $27,187.81 | $9,866.21 | 36.3% | $10.00 | $1,500.00 | 5.5% | $850.00 | 3.1% | $2,350.00 | 8.6% |
| Hicks, Tonia | $19,607.77 | 7112.94 | 36.3% | $120.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| ABC - IEPAC | $18,594.00 | $14,555.00 | 78.3% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $200.00 | 1.1% | $200.00 | 1.1% |
| Bullister, Dana | $15,047.01 | $8,199.01 | 54.5% | $5,399.01 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| Eckstut, Robert | $10,452.00 | $1,120.00 | 10.7% | $720.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| ORC - PAC | $4,860.00 | $4,860.00 | 100.0% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| BikeSafety-PAC | $4,231.00 | $3,275.00 | 77.4% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| ABC - PAC | $1,280.00 | $1,130.00 | 88.3% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $50.00 | 3.9% | $50.00 | 3.9% |
| CResA - PAC | $1,045.00 | $1,045.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| Pierre, Frantz | $250.00 | $50.00 | 20.0% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| Moree, Gregg | $100.00 | $100.00 | 100.0% | $100.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| Levy, Ilan S. | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| CCC - PAC | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% | $0.00 | 0.0% |
| Total | $751,215.22 | $445,581.78 | 59.3% | $52,471.79 | $38,050.00 | 5.1% | $48,949.00 | 6.5% | $86,999.00 | 11.6% |
Source: Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF)
ABC-PAC: “A Better Cambridge Political Action Committee” [dissolved 4/14/21 in favor of ABC-IEPAC]
ABC-IEPAC: “A Better Cambridge Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee”
BikeSafety-IEPAC: “Cambridge Bicycle Safety Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee”
CCC-PAC: “Cambridge Citizens Coalition Political Action Committee” [dissolved 11/5/21 in favor of CCC-IEPAC]
CCC-IEPAC: “Cambridge Citizens Coalition Independent Expenditure Political Action Committee”
CResA-PAC: “Democracy for Cambridge Political Action Committee” – Cambridge Residents Alliance
ORC-PAC: “Our Revolution Cambridge Political Action Committee”
Note: Late support from two additional Independent Expenditure PACs (IEPAC) associated with Liam Kerr has been reported for two candidates:
Priorities for Progress IEPAC – $3000 toward Paul Toner (Novus Group, digital advertisements)
Democrats for Education Reform IEPAC – $2500 toward Patricia Nolan (Novus Group, digital advertisements)
Bank Reports and $ per #1 Vote
Bank Reports 2021 - Cambridge City Council Candidates and PACsLast updated Feb 4, 1:00pm
| Candidate | From | To | Start | Receipts | Expend | Balance | As Of | #1 Votes | $/#1 Vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC-PAC | 02/01/20 | 04/14/21 | $2,051.88 | $1,229.43 | $3,281.31 | $0.00 | 04/14/21 | ||
| ABC-IEPAC | 02/17/21 | 10/31/21 | $0.00 | $18,424.00 | $11,178.25 | $7,245.75 | 11/01/21 | ||
| CCC-PAC | 02/01/20 | 10/31/21 | $5,142.82 | $0.00 | $5,142.82 | $0.00 | 11/04/21 | ||
| CCC-IEPAC | 01/01/21 | 12/31/21 | $0.00 | $32,855.00 | $32,512.40 | $342.60 | 01/05/22 | ||
| CResA-PAC | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $456.16 | $2,041.56 | $1,419.26 | $1,078.46 | 02/03/22 | ||
| BikeSafety-IEPAC | 02/01/20 | 10/20/21 | $0.00 | $3,861.00 | $0.00 | $3,861.00 | 10/20/21 | ||
| ORC-PAC | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $60.00 | $4,860.10 | $4,433.08 | $487.02 | 02/01/22 | ||
| Azeem, Burhan | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $53.68 | $38,646.06 | $38,307.13 | $392.61 | 02/03/22 | 1379 | $27.78 |
| Bullister, Dana | 11/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $0.00 | $15,071.40 | $14,930.41 | $140.99 | 02/04/22 | 520 | $28.71 |
| Carlone, Dennis | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $7,231.04 | $40,784.41 | $35,958.09 | $12,057.36 | 02/01/22 | 1493 | $24.08 |
| Eckstut, Robert | 05/12/21 | 01/31/22 | $0.00 | $9,886.39 | $9,688.13 | $198.26 | 02/01/22 | 70 | $138.40 |
| Hicks, Tonia | 11/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $0.00 | $19,079.01 | $17,277.12 | $1,801.89 | 02/01/22 | 363 | $47.60 |
| Levy, Ilan | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $54.78 | $0.00 | $51.00 | $3.78 | 02/01/22 | 97 | $0.53 |
| Mallon, Alanna | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $4,944.73 | $40,630.07 | $39,879.65 | $5,695.15 | 02/03/22 | 1220 | $32.69 |
| McGovern, Marc | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $11,356.02 | $67,758.37 | $65,477.31 | $13,637.08 | 02/02/22 | 1539 | $42.55 |
| McGuirk, Joe | 12/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $0.00 | $26,359.48 | $23,853.41 | $2,506.07 | 02/01/22 | 611 | $39.04 |
| Moree, Gregg | 12/31/20 | 11/30/21 | $0.00 | $100.00 | $100.00 | $0.00 | 12/06/21 | 80 | $1.25 |
| Nolan, Patty | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $6,855.33 | $36,922.69 | $30,637.02 | $13,141.00 | 02/01/22 | 1971 | $15.54 |
| Pierre, Frantz | 11/01/20 | 12/31/21 | $0.00 | $3,336.17 | $2,312.83 | $1,023.34 | 01/04/22 | 355 | $6.52 |
| Siddiqui, Sumbul | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $15,318.99 | $40,290.95 | $35,863.41 | $19,746.53 | 02/01/22 | 4124 | $8.70 |
| Simmons, Denise | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $8,662.33 | $66,729.02 | $60,207.29 | $15,184.06 | 02/01/22 | 1764 | $34.13 |
| Skeadas, Theodora | 02/01/21 | 01/31/22 | $0.00 | $46,663.79 | $46,008.27 | $655.52 | 02/01/22 | 813 | $56.59 |
| Sobrinho-Wheeler, Jivan | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $2,103.89 | $30,001.90 | $31,048.50 | $1,057.29 | 02/01/22 | 1225 | $25.35 |
| Toner, Paul | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $156.57 | $75,858.01 | $74,637.07 | $1,377.51 | 02/01/22 | 1703 | $43.83 |
| Williams, Nicola A. | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $262.21 | $61,089.46 | $60,934.55 | $417.12 | 02/01/22 | 1159 | $52.58 |
| Zondervan, Quinton | 02/01/20 | 01/31/22 | $256.49 | $70,872.25 | $70,347.73 | $781.01 | 02/01/22 | 1295 | $54.32 |
I AGAIN criticize your lumping together unions with real estate developers for 2 reasons:
There are many unions, such as our Teacher’s Union and Municipal Workers Union, in addition to construction unions.
Unions benefit many workers. Real estate developers benefit one person: the CEO.
Comment by laura blacklow — October 20, 2021 @ 11:10 am
You are free to criticize, but the point here is the outsized influence of contributions that almost invariably flow to help re-elect incumbents, sometimes at a scale that exceeds the entire campaign budget of other candidates. I will add that the people who control the contributions from unions are not the same as union members.
This data does not say anything about the benefits of unionization – just the influence on elections.
I will add that real estate development does not just “benefit one person: the CEO”. For example, it provides jobs for union workers.
Comment by Robert Winters — October 20, 2021 @ 11:31 am
I am happy to learn that Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler has been defeated. One less DSA on the Council. In addition, Our Revolution Cambridge (ORC) was not influential in this year’s election.
Comment by Rev. Philip Mitza — November 10, 2021 @ 1:44 pm
I strongly disagree with the above comment. Jivan Sobrinho-Wheeler is for the working man and woman. He is concerned about the environment and the disastrous effect of growing income inequality in our nation. His narrow defeat is a great loss to Cambridge. He has much the same platform/agenda as many of the city council members. He is the most decent, caring, hard-working individual.
Comment by Sarah Wheeler — November 13, 2021 @ 1:27 pm