ROP

Nassau DA Singas outraises opponent McQuade by large margin

Teri West
Nassau County District Attorney democratic and incumbent candidate Madeline Singas, left, and her opponent republican Francis McQuade. (Left photo by Amelia Camurati, right photo courtesy of Francis McQuade)

The Nassau County district attorney race is off to a wildly uneven start financially.

Incumbent Democrat Madeline Singas has $1.12 million in the bank while her opponent, Republican Francis McQuade, has $6,799, according to July campaign filing reports.

Nearly $1 million of Singas’ funds was already in her opening balance, which totaled $962,702. Since then, she has gained $318,375 in contributions, while McQuade has taken in $17,244 in contributions.

“I’m honored by this support for my campaign and look forward to running on my record of lower crime, safer communities, and the professional and ethical administration of justice by our outstanding team of prosecutors, investigators and staff,” Singas said in a statement.

McQuade said that joining the race in March and not being an incumbent has put him at a financial disadvantage.

“I was asked to run on the very night of the Nassau Republican Convention as a compromise candidate,” he wrote in an email. “I had not intended to run, and was surprised by the request. I was honored and happy to have been nominated, but certainly started ‘flat-footed.’”

The early weeks were spent putting a campaign together and he invested $3,000 in it himself, McQuade said. Now he’s fund-raising and appearing at events around Nassau County, he said.

“I am working harder to raise money and am making new pitches,” he wrote. “My next financial disclosure should report more encouraging results. I have a fund-raiser at the Jetty in Long Beach Aug. 8.”

He said he anticipates support from the Nassau County Republican Committee and unions.

Singas’ campaign spendings total $158,107, while McQuade’s total $13,444.

McQuade’s campaign has spent 66 percent of its receipts while Singas’ has spent about 50 percent of what it has collected this campaign season. Taking her opening balance into account, however, the Singas campaign has only spent about 12 percent of its total funds.

Individuals have made 235 contributions to Singas’ campaign since the start of the year and 85 contributions to McQuade’s.

The candidates are nearly tied, however, in the number of corporate donations: Singas with 12 and McQuade with 11.

Singas’ 12 corporate donors have given more than 10 times what McQuade’s have. His 11 corporate donations total $1,600 while hers total $20,350. Three of Singas’ corporate donors are based in the Town of North Hempstead.

Singas has been Nassau County’s district attorney since 2016. She previously led the office’s Special Victims Bureau, was chief assistant district attorney and was acting district attorney.

“I first ran for office four years ago because I believed the Nassau DA should be an experienced prosecutor, not a politician,” Singas said in a statement. “We’ve worked relentlessly to fight violent gangs, tackle the opioid crisis and prosecute public corruption, and it is working.”

McQuade, an attorney, has never held political office but has run for city, county and state seats, most recently the New York State Assembly in 2006.

“I am in it to win it and do not consider myself a “place-holder” for the County GOP,” he wrote. “I’m fixing on winning.”

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