City Councilor Brian Pine is dominating his opponent in fundraising for the Progressive nomination for mayor of Burlington, raising more than $10,000.
Meanwhile, fellow Councilor Max Tracy reported raising $1,666 as of Monday, the day before the Progressive Party nominating caucus.
Pine, Tracy and independent Councilor Ali Dieng are running for the office held by Democrat Miro Weinberger, who is seeking a fourth term as mayor of the state’s largest city.
Colleen Jackson, Pine’s communications director, said that as of Monday Pine had brought in more than $10,000 from 103 donors. She declined to give an exact amount because Pine was making more donation calls. She said the number is “changing as we speak.”
Jackson said Pine was too busy to immediately comment on his fundraising performance.
“Beating an incumbent mayor is not an easy task,” Jackson said in an email. “Our campaign has demonstrated that we are up to the challenge.”
Pine has been involved in Burlington politics dating back to the 1980s. He previously served on the City Council in the ‘90s and was elected to a seat again in 2018. He’s favored among older, more moderate Progressives in the city, whereas Tracy is known to have more support among younger, more activist Progressives.
Jackson said Pine’s average contribution was less than $100 and that he is not accepting corporate donations. Local candidates aren’t required to submit a campaign finance report with the Secretary of State’s Office until 30 days before an election, if they raise or spend over $500.
Tracy said he thinks Pine’s fundraising is admirable, but he doesn’t think the amount he’s raised is “decisive” in a race that is going to be tight.
“It’s certainly impressive and I commend Brian for that,” Tracy said. “It doesn’t concern me in the sense that we’ve run a primarily grassroots campaign and all indications are that this is going to be very close.”
Tracy said he’s also carried over $1,393 from prior campaigns. The $1,666 that has been raised in November came from 26 donors, Tracy said.
Dieng, who is running as an independent in the race for mayor, said his campaign has not started a formal fundraising process. That push will come after his formal announcement, which he said will take place later this week.
So far, he said he’s received $600 in monetary donations and about $3,000 in-kind donations.
Weinberger’s campaign manager, Jordan Redell, said the mayor has been focused on the Covid-19 pandemic and has not been actively campaigning or raising funds.
In 2018, Weinberger collected $113,674 in campaign contributions, according to his final campaign finance report.
The Progressive caucus kicks off tomorrow at 6:30 p.m. with virtual candidate speeches. Voters can cast ballots electronically or in person, at the parking lot of the ONE Community Center from 5 to 7 p.m. on Dec. 2 and 8:30 to 11 a.m. Dec. 3.
The Democratic caucus is on Sunday, Dec. 6.
