Record fundraising fuels fears that governor's office is up for sale to the highest bidder
BOSTON - Deval Patrick not only received the most votes across North of Boston in Tuesday's Democratic primary. He swept the field in fundraising, too.
Patrick was the leading fundraiser among Democrats in 23 of 28 North of Boston cities and towns. He raised $185,585 in the area between Jan. 1 and Sept. 15, according to campaign finance reports recently filed with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance. That was 49 percent of all the money raised by Democrats from individual donors.
Overall, North of Boston residents gave $377,340 to the Democratic gubernatorial candidates, and $646,906 to the five biggest fundraisers in the race.
The North of Boston contributions, along with millions of dollars in gifts several of the candidates gave themselves, have fueled what already is the most expensive governor's race in Massachusetts history - and there are still six more weeks until Election Day.
Patrick flexed his fundraising muscle in Andover, Beverly, Ipswich, Marblehead and Salem, raising at least $18,000 in each, and in some cases, like Ipswich, raised as much as nine times more money than his nearest financial competitor, Attorney General Thomas Reilly.
He also trounced his Democratic rivals in Gloucester and Newburyport, where he raised better than four times what Reilly raised.
Reilly, who finished third in the balloting, placed second in North of Boston fundraising with $163,645.
He finished strong in places like Methuen and North Andover, where he was aided by local politicians who had lined up early to support the attorney general's run for governor.
Venture capitalist Christopher Gabrieli, who didn't enter the race until April, raised just $28,110 from area donors.
Prominent North of Boston residents opened up their checkbooks for all three candidates.
Patrick, true to his statewide campaign, received nearly 1,300 donations from North of Boston, many of them $100 or less - well below the $500 legal threshold.
Some of his well-known local donors included Andover attorney and School Committee member Debra Silberstein, former Congressman Michael Harrington, Congressman John Tierney, D-Mass., and former Gloucester Mayor Robert French.
Reilly, an established political figure backed by many of the region's Statehouse Democrats, also received money from top area figures.
Charles Daher, owner of Commonwealth Motors and developer of One Mill St., gave $500. Former state Sen. James Jajuga gave $500.
All three Democrats gave money to their own campaigns.
Gabrieli, who relied largely on his vast wealth to fund his campaign, contributed the most. He gave $9.5 million of the $10 million he reported raising.
Patrick contributed $45,000 to his campaign in 2006.
And Reilly, who throughout the campaign portrayed himself as a middle-class guy trying to make ends meet, gave the legal limit of $500 in 2006.
Patrick's fundraising win may give hope to his campaign, but the large amount of money that is being spent on this election has raised red flags among some observers.
This already is the most expensive governor's race on record in Massachusetts, with $30 million spent as of Sept. 15. In 2002, candidates for governor spent $30 million for the entire election, said Denis Kennedy, spokesman for the Office of Campaign and Political Finance.
A major reason, Kennedy explained, is that three of the candidates for governor going into Tuesday's primary have contributed millions to their own races.
Gabrieli, who made a fortune investing in biotechnology, contributed 95 percent of the $10 million he reported raising.
Christy Mihos, a convenience store magnate running as an independent, gave his campaign $2.5 million of his own money, or 86 percent of what he reported raising.
Healey, though, while raising the most money in the region - $255,551 - also contributed $4.2 million to her campaign. And her husband, Affiliated Managers Group President Sean Healey, stands ready to contribute cash from stock options to further fund her race.
All of this money pouring into the system is not good for the state's political discourse, said Pam Wilmot, executive director of government watchdog Common Cause.
"We have four multimillionaires, very wealthy people, and three are putting up vast amounts of their personal wealth," Wilmot said. "It ups the ante for all candidates and makes it difficult for others (without deep pockets) to measure up."
Patrick's camp has said he can measure up. And the state Democratic Party is working to ensure he does, holding two fundraisers - one in October with former President Clinton - to raise at least $1 million for the Democratic nominee. The party also used $400,000 it raised earlier in the year to pay for a Patrick ad blitz following his primary win.
What worries Wilmot is whether money will tilt the playing field in favor of the candidates with the cash.
"If you have the bucks," Wilmot said, "you can get your message out more effectively than people with less money."