About a month before Town Meeting Day, Burlington Mayor Miro Weinberger has raked in $80,773.69 for his re-election bid — and spent $57,164.01.
In Vermont, candidates who spend or raise $500 or more since the last election for that office have to file campaign finance disclosures with the Secretary of State’s office.
For local candidates, state law caps contributions from a single source or political action committee at $1,020 for each election cycle — but allows unlimited contributions from political parties.
According to the filing made on Feb. 4, since the last mayoral election Weinberger received funds from 363 total contributors.
Among the contributors to Weinberger’s campaign are four members of the Pomerleau family who each gave $1,000; Bill Lofy, former chief of staff to Gov. Peter Shumlin, who gave $250; and Samantha Power, former ambassador to the United Nations under President Barack Obama, who gave $500 — Power and Weinberger went to Yale together and shared a house during graduate school.
Weinberger is facing two challengers in this year’s mayoral race: Carina Driscoll, an independent endorsed by the Progressive Party, and Infinite Culcleasure, who is also running as an independent.
A filing made on Feb. 5 shows that Driscoll, who is also the stepdaughter of Sen. Bernie Sanders, took in $32,921.42 from 191 total contributors and spent $23,029.47.
Contributors to Driscoll's campaign include her mother, Jane Sanders, who gave $1,000; Jeff Weaver, campaign manager for Sen. Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential bid, who gave $250; and current Burlington City Council President Jane Knodell, who gave $150. Driscoll loaned her own campaign $10,000.
Culcleasure raised $4,862 from 30 contributors and spent $2,307.30, according to a Feb. 5 filing.
Update 6:06 p.m. This post has been updated to including information from Infinite Culcleasure's campaign finance disclosure.
