Nassau County Executive Edward Mangano (R-Bethpage) and challenger Tom Suozzi (D-Glen Cove) are each entering the final stretch of the campaign with about $1 million, according to the first campaign finance filings of the general election.
And former Freeport Mayor Andrew Hardwick, who launched a third-party run in August, has raised $23,000 from a single source – Oheka Castle owner Gary Melius, a major political donor who has given thousands to candidates of both parties in past elections but has funded Mangano in the current election cycle.
Mangano raised $792,000 from July 12 through Sept. 30, including more than $300,000 in transfers from the Nassau County Republican Committee, the Town of Hempstead Republican Committee and Republican committees in Valley Stream.
The incumbent raised $272,000 from individuals, including $10,000 from former Republican U.S. Sen. Alfonse D’Amato, who is currently and influential lobbyist. Mangano also took in $68,000 from corporations and spent mover $2 million, leaving his campaign with $1,151,850 for the rest of the campaign.
Suozzi, whose filing only covered Sept. 17 through Sept. 30 due to his having filed reports during the Democratic primary campaign against Roslyn businessman Adam Haber, ended the period with $989,041 cash on hand. He raised $293,440 in the two-week time frame, including more than $95,000 from shoe industry mogul Steven Madden, Madden’s wife, and a corporation owned by Madden.
Suozzi also took in $52,000 from limited liability corporations, including $20,000 from Louden Realty LLC out of Garden City and $15,000 from an LLC run by Rockville Center-based Boca Development Corp.
His campaign spread the wealth to his political allies, contributing $100,000 to the Nassau County Democratic Committee.
Hardwick, whose entry into the race on his “We Count” party line drew allegations from Democrats that he was serving as a spoiler to siphon votes from Suozzi, drew all his funding from the Oheka Castle owner.
Hardwick has rejected the claims, and is currently fighting a legal challenge to his ballot signatures from Democrats.
Melius responded to charges that he was seeking to split the Democratic minority vote in a statement to News 12.
“My reason for supporting Andrew Hardwick is that he asked me as his friend to help him run.,” wrote Melius. “He wanted to have his voice heard on his ideals and what he feels was a racial assault on him by Tom Suozzi and Jay Jacobs, when they came to Freeport during his recent Mayoral campaign, and openly supported a white Republican against the first Democratic African American Mayor of Freeport.”
