Jon Kaiman trails, Steve Stern leads in Congress campaign fundraising

Noah Manskar

The Democratic candidates for the North Shore’s Third Congressional District are on a roughly level playing field when it comes to first-quarter fundraising, except for one: former Town of North Hempstead Jon Kaiman.

The former Nassau Interim Finance Authority chairman raised $242,379 between January and March 31, the least of the four Democrats who filed reports with the Federal Election Commission last Friday.

Kaiman, considered one of the more prominent candidates to replace U.S. Rep. Steve Israel (D-Huntington), came more than $200,000 short of North Hempstead Councilwoman Anna Kaplan’s $445,160, the second-smallest haul.

Filings show his campaign closed the three-month fundraising period with $189,305 on hand after spending $53,073, the least of the four Democrats.

Levittown attorney Jonathan Clarke filed a petition with the state Board of Elections to run in the June 28 Democratic primary, but did not make a quarterly filing with the FEC.

In a statement, campaign manager Jeff Guillot said the 4,153 signatures on Kaiman’s candidacy petition filed, more than any other Democrat, indicate “support across the district.” 

The campaign “will have the resources to compete vigorously,” he said.

In a sit-down interview with Blank Slate Media last month, Kaiman said he was spending most of his time raising money and gathering petition signatures. 

He got endorsements in February from Kaplan’s fellow Town Board members Peter Zuckerman and Lee Seeman, as well as town Receiver of Taxes Charles Berman.

About 85 percent of Kaplan’s donors live in the Long Island-New York City region, her campaign said in an April 6 statement, and about 90 percent of the 290 individuals who gave have yet to reach the FEC’s $2,700 limit.

“This filing demonstrates that there is a strong level of support for Anna Kaplan and that her unique story and message of making our region more affordable to live, work and raise a family is already resonating,” Kaplan campaign spokesman Reginald Johnson said in the statement.

Kaplan’s filing shows she gave her campaign a $100,000 loan.

Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern of Dix Hills led the Democrats, raising $500,633 and closing with $445,530 in his war chest. Stern’s filing shows he gave his campaign a $38,000 donation and a $32,000 loan.

Stern had the second-lowest number of contributors and the highest average donation of $1,620.

“Congress needs to start working for New York’s middle-class families, not for the special interests, and I’m thrilled by the outstanding early support for my candidacy,” Stern said in a statement.

Former Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi of Glen Cove raised $451,306, spent $76,960 and closed with $374,346.

In an April 15 statement, campaign manager Mike Florio said Suozzi was the only Democrat not to lend or give any of his own money to his campaign.

“People are investing in my campaign because I have a proven record of going up against the status quo to get things done,” Suozzi said in the statement. “They know that’s what Washington, D.C., needs these days.”

Kaplan got about two dozen donations from limited-liability corporations worth a total of $31,500.

Ten LLCs listing addresses at 45 Cutter Mill Road in Great Neck, the headquarters of Abraham Daniels’ firm A.D. Real Estate Investors, gave the campaign a total of $5,000.

Other donations included $5,000 from a real estate subsidiary of New Hyde Park-based Lalezarian Properties, headed by Frank Lalezarian. Developer Manny Malekan gave $2,700 through an LLC for his Little Neck Commons shopping complex.

In the Republican race for the Third District, state Sen. Jack Martins raised $283,598 in the first quarter, spent $41,375 and closed the period with $242,223 on hand.

Some $15,000 of that came from three national Republican political action committees, the filing shows.

Twenty-eight of Martins’ 182 contributions came from Mineola, where he served as mayor before being elected to the state Senate in 2010.

The Nassau, Suffolk and Queens Republican committees endorsed Martins for the congressional seat in March, but Glen Cove financial investigator Philip Pidot was actively fundraising — he gathered $106,796, spent $23,099 and closed with $83,696 on hand.

Pidot’s campaign income included a $20,000 loan and $752 in donations from himself. His family members gave $13,700 in five donations.

Fourth Congressional District incumbent U.S. Rep. Kathleen Rice outpaced Republican opponent David Gurfein of Manhasset in the first quarter, raising $243,915 to his $49,396.

Gurfein started exploring a run for Congress in September and has raised more than $303,000 since the start of the election cycle, his filing shows.

About $88,285 of Gurfein’s $118,516 total spending came in the first quarter. He closed with $185,203 on hand.

Rice has a much larger war chest of $800,759 after spending $117,300 in the first quarter. Some $54,000, or about a fifth, of her recent campaign income came from political action committees, her filing shows.

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