Campaigns for Brooklyn boro president push past million dollar mark

January 14, 2013 Mary Frost Brooklyn Daily Eagle

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The two men most likely to throw their hats in the ring for Brooklyn Borough President during the primaries in June have both raised enough funds to push them past the million-dollar mark.

Sen. Eric Adams’s campaign team said on Monday that nearly 2,500 people have contributed to his campaign—bringing his fundraising total of “mostly small-dollar donations” to about $420,000.

This qualifies Adams (D – Flatbush, parts of Park Slope, Sunset Park and Brownsville) for the maximum amount of funding – nearly another $800,000 – through the city’s campaign finance system because of the large number of contributions of $175 or less coming from Brooklyn donors.

Meanwhile, Councilman Domenic Recchia (D – Bensonhurst, Gravesend, Coney Island), an undeclared but likely candidate, has raised over $800,000, “not including matching funds,” spokesperson Ashleigh Owens told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle on Monday.

With matching funds, the most that can be spent on the campaign for Brooklyn Borough President is $1.46 million. “We’re over that target,” Owens said, adding the councilman had “widespread support across Brooklyn. Individuals who recognize his dedication to creating jobs, ending gun violence, and supporting education, culture and the arts.”

Recchia has served in the City Council since 2002 and, in 2010, became chair of the powerful Council Finance Committee.

Adams, a three-term state senator, and a resident of Prospect Heights, has represented the 20th S.D. since 2006. During 22 years on NYC police force, he founded 100 Blacks In Law Enforcement Who Care, a group that’s sought to promote improved relations between the NYPD and minority communities.

He’s known as a strong proponent of getting assault rifles off the street and for his focus on domestic violence and safe streets. Of his 153 active bills during the 2012 session, 15 were focused on public safety, civil rights and gun control.

Borough President Marty Markowitz, first elected in 2001, is term-limited and cannot run for the office again.