Having A Fundraiser at Casino in April
By Josh Resnek
The invitations have already been mailed out.
The mayor is having an April fundraiser at the casino.
After raising and spending $420,000 to get himself re-elected in 2021, the mayor’s campaign account is skirting the bottom.
According to records available from the State Office of Campaign and Finance, the mayor’s account had about $9,000 remaining in it at the February, 2022.
The mayor has advertised his fundraiser as a snack only, cash bar time at the casino, with contributions being sought that range from $100 to $1,000.
During the race with Fred Capone – Capone lost by 210 votes – DeMaria benefitted from several fundraisers run by influential friends.
One such fundraiser brought in an unspecified number of $1,000 contributors, most of whom have no connection with the city, or with the mayor, for that matter, according to records on file with OCPF.
“One of the mayor’s chief financial supporters is believed to have put up $50,000 to $100,000, and then distributed it in $1,000 increments to his friends and associates, who then in turn made the donations to the mayor’s campaign, a source who wished to remain unnamed told the Leader Herald.
This cannot be confirmed by the data on file other than to note about 40-50 $1,000 contributions, nearly all of them from outsiders and many who have no business relationship with the city.
The main exception is a local family whose company is a major contractor for the city.
That family donated $6,000 in six separate $1,000 contributions.
Also, the DeMaria campaign paid out almost $50,000 in legal fees to Saul Ewing Arnstein and Lehr LLP in three separate disbursements of $20,084 on 2/2/22, $8,865 on 12/15/21 and $20,000 on 9/20/21.
“He needs money to pay his legal fees. That’s why he’s having a money raiser in April when he isn’t up for re-election for another four years,” a source told the Leader Herald.
“Who does such a thing?” he asked.