Happy Annual Campaign Finance Report-Filing Day, Philadelphia!

Hey Philly, it’s Show Me The Political Money Day! As in, if you’re running for office, you best get down to City Hall and file original hard-copy reports with the Philadelphia County Board of Elections.

So, what’s been going on down at Room 142, where all the annual reports are being filed? Happy you asked.

4:40 p.m. update: Anthony Hardy Williams’ numbers are in.

The Williams Campaign released details on its fundraising totals through the end of 2014. The Campaign had a great last five weeks of 2014, and the fundraising momentum continues to grow as demonstrated by support of citizens across Philadelphia.

“My message of One Philadelphia is resonating with the voters and that is reflected in donations,” said Anthony Hardy Williams. “The campaign hit the ground running in November and closed out 2014 with significant support, thanks to a diverse donor base that cuts across all segments of Philadelphia.

“We have been able to successfully build on that momentum already in 2015, and look forward to continuing that trajectory.”

The campaign raised a total $208.060.50 in the last five weeks of 2014, with $425,897.80 cash on hand.

3 p.m. update from Katie Colaneri : The 2014 campaign finance reports are trickling in and so far, these mayoral candidates are poor. The numbers reflect their fundraising efforts through December 31, 2014.

Of those who’ve filed so far, Lynne Abraham is in the lead in cash on hand with about $196,000. Nelson Diaz had about $79,500 in the bank, and Jim Kenney, who will kick off his campaign on Thursday, had about $76,600. We’re still waiting for State Senator Anthony Williams.

The numbers in the reports reflect only a fraction of the amount it will take for these candidates to wage competitive media campaigns in Philadelphia’s expensive media market. 

Abraham has filed a supplemental report showing she raised an additional $291,680 in the month of January, leaving her with $424,611 on hand at the end of the month. 

Also of note: Ken Trujillo, who dropped out of the race two weeks ago, raised $368,000 and had about $190,000 on hand at the end of 2014. 

Likely candidates Doug Oliver and Milton Street are not expected to report any significant fundraising. Oliver’s formal announcement is Saturday. 

Candidates have until 5 p.m. to turn them in to the Philadelphia County Board of Elections.

2 p.m. update: Mayoral candidate T. Milton Street Sr. issued a statement on Facebook about the finances of the campaign. Here’s what he had to type:

Most candidates will have to raise a million dollars to get where I am. Consider the following:

Name recognition I have. With the exception of Lynn[e] Abraham, the voters in the community don’t know who the other candidates are.

Most voters North of Vine Street never heard of [S]enator Williams. He’s going to need 800,00[0] just to match my name recognition. He will need an additional [$]300,000 to attempt to explain what he has accomplished in the Senate for the last decade.

I have a campaign manager whose political market value is over $100,000.

I have an experience[d] administrator and field operator whose political value is over $100,000. …

Way I see it, my opponents have to do some serious fundraising to get where I am. Most of my opponents don’t have enough money to run for mayor. NOT ME!!!!!

Street also noted that he’ll have a fundraiser from 6 to 8 p.m. March 3 at OCF Coffee House which, of course, apparently has ties to a certain challenger in a certain heated City Council campaign.

1 p.m. update: The first filing-day press release just hit our inboxes. The statement comes from Barry Caro, spokesman for the Nelson Diaz for Mayor campaign, and reads as such…

“While not an official candidate or elected official, and with no campaign staff, Judge Nelson Diaz was able to raise more than $87,000 while exploring the possibility of running for Mayor.

“Since launching his campaign and beginning to hire staff last month, the pace of our campaign fundraising has significantly accelerated. With this initial investment, we’re well on our way to raising more than enough to run a full, winning campaign.”