By Rebecca Henely
Community activist and retired city Police Department Officer Anthony Miranda hopes to break the 18-year tenure of state Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry (D-Corona), but Aubry’s finances are double those of his Democratic challenger.
Aubry has raised and spent nearly twice what Miranda has collected and spent in the primary race for the 35th District seat since Jan. 1. The disclosure reports from the state Board of Elections put Aubry’s contributions at $87,616, whereas Miranda has raised a little more than half that at $45,507.
Spending for each of the candidates also splits about evenly, with Aubry spending about half of his contributions at $46,981 and Miranda spending $25,347.
Fellow legislators rank high among those to dig deepest into their pockets for Aubry’s campaign. Some big names on the list include Assemblyman Michael Gianaris (D-Astoria), who donated $3,800; U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley (D-Jackson Heights), who donated $3,000; former City Councilwoman Melinda Katz, who donated $2,500; Assemblyman Keith Wright (D-Manhattan), who donated $2,500; and state Sen. Jose Peralta (D-Jackson Heights), who donated $1,500.
Aubry also netted $6,100, his largest contribution, from the New York Trial Lawyers Association’s political action committee, Lawpac of New York; $3,800 from Jeffrey Gural of real estate agency Newmarket Knight Frank in Manhattan; and $2,500 from Beverly’s Home Care Agency in Rego Park.
Miranda’s largest donation, $5,000, came from Interstate Transport, a cargo transportation company based in Harrison, N.J. The next biggest contributor was Charles Duval, founder of government staffing agency Data Industries Ltd., who gave $3,600, and the next came from the pro-working men and women political action committee International Brotherhood of Teamsters Joint Council No. 16 PAC, which gave $2,000, and business service law firm Cronin & Byczek LLP, which gave $2,500.
Significant people who gave smaller contributions to Miranda’s campaign include ousted Sen. Hiram Monserrate, who gave $200; Martha Flores-Vazquez, Democratic district leader for the 22nd Assembly District, who gave $250; and Monserrate campaign staffer Mike Nieves, who gave $750.
Aubry’s expenditures went largely to consulting fees, the biggest expenses going to Berlin Rosen Ltd. of Manhattan, with $10,648 spent on campaign literature and $7,854 spent on consulting. Next was Connective Strategies of Brooklyn, which received $9,250 overall in consulting fees since Jan. 1, and The Cratos Group, a fund-raising firm that received $1,500 from the Aubry campaign.
Aubry also spent a significant amount of money on fund-raising, spending $1,439 for a fund-raiser at Bruno’s on the Boulevard in East Elmhurst.
Miranda’s greatest expenditures were also in consulting. He paid $9,080 to Stoll, Glickman & Bellina of Brooklyn for consulting services as well as $1,750 to Nieves, a consultant. Another large recipient of campaign cash was Grassroots Initiative at Fourth Street in Manhattan, which received $2,863 for campaign literature and other services.
Bruno’s on the Boulevard also proved to have no bias as a fund-raising spot: Miranda spent $2,764 in fund-raisers there altogether.
Reach reporter Rebecca Henely by e-mail at rhenely@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4564.
