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The first set of campaign finance reports is in for the eight candidates still running in April’s special election for an at-large Council seat. The most noteworthy filing is the $71,000 raised by little-known Matthew Frumin, an attorney and Ward 3 ANC commissioner. Frumin, who also lent his campaign $10,000 of his own money, has raised more than double of any of the seven other candidates running.
Perhaps even more interesting than Frumin’s hearty haul is how poorly several well-connected candidates are doing. Former Councilmember Michael Brown only raised $9,500, of which he’s already spent $8,425. Councilmember Anita Bonds, who was recently appointed to the council by the D.C. Democratic State Committee, raised $11,000. That figure includes a $5,000 loan from Bonds to her own campaign. Republican Pat Mara, who came close to winning the last special election in 2011, only raised about $20,000.
The rest of the field includes former Loose Lips Elissa Silverman, who raised a respectable $35,700 considering she’s not accepting corporate donations; pro-pot lawyer Paul Zukerberg, who raised $6,500 and loaned himself another $3,000; D.C. Statehood Green party candidate Perry Redd, who raised less than $1,000; and mortgage banker John Settles, who hasn’t filed his report yet.