By Josh Resnek
The mayor’s well attended fundraiser at the Encore Boston Harbor Hotel and Casino pulled in as much as $180,000 from a wide variety of contributors, according to sources close to the mayor.
A crush of developers, vendors, and city employees all showed up with checks to pay homage to the mayor, whose campaign chest has been depleted by a litany of bills including paying high monthly retainer fees for criminal attorneys representing him against the possibility of Federal prosecution.
Those who attended who spoke to the Leader Herald reported a large and boisterous crowd of supplicants wanting to thank the mayor for his business and to shake his hand.
“The largest part of the crowd was not from Everett. It was developers and suppliers, vendors and everyone connected with the largest projects put up in the city during the past decade. Everyone is required to attend and to say thank you with a check. It is a common practice although in Everett it has become a bit like religion,” said a source.
“They are saying 400 people attended. That’s impossible. The room was smaller. The crowd appeared to be larger in the smaller space. The fundraiser was a big success for the mayor,” said the source.
The mayor is planning a second major fundraiser for February, according to a member of his campaign group.
A breakdown of the contributor list and the amounts donated will be available in January.
According to the Office of Campaign and Political Finance, the mayor reported having $90,439.20 in the 2018 year end report.
That report reveals a large number of $1,000 contributions from a wide variety of city vendors and apparent friends of the mayor including developers, insurance agents, and real estate types.
Dozens of city employees made contributions ranging from $100 to $500.
Sources claim the account was largely depleted by the time of the fundraiser last week. Reported high expenses for events and expenditures in 2018 by the mayor throughout the year required the fundraiser and the second one planned for February.
All donations for 2019 will be reported to OCPF and will be available for public viewing sometime in January.