Mayor Malik Evans has spent more than $500,000 in his bid for re-election this year, according to the campaign’s latest financial filings.
That’s more than three times what he had spent at this point getting elected four years ago.
His two opponents, City Council member Mary Lupien and IT executive Shashi Sinha, have combined spending of just more than $200,000.
Early voting began Saturday, and turnout thus far is tracking behind what it was in 2021. Through Tuesday, 1,706 voters had cast their primary ballot, compared to 2,104 four years ago, Board of Elections data show.
Four years ago, Evans had spent just less than $150,000 on his mayoral bid — and was getting outspent by then-Mayor Lovely Warren. His campaign outlay this year in part highlights the advantages of being an incumbent, as he came into the year with almost $390,000 in his campaign coffers to Lupien’s $2,500 and Sinha’s $0. He also has more money on hand going into this final stretch than his two opponents put together.
All candidates are spending heavily on advertising, mailers and campaign consultants, records show.
Evans also is sharing the wealth.
He has backed the so-called Team for Rochester slate – contributing $4,500 each to City Council challengers Lashunda Leslie Smith, Niner Davis and Josie McClary, as well as to incumbent Mitch Gruber, and $3,000 to City Council President Miguel Meléndez.
Evans largest individual donors include developers and real estate investors, including executives from Christa Construction, Indus Hospitality Group, and LeChase, as well as the North Atlantic States Regional Council of Carpenters union, and RIJF LLC, the private company owned by the producers of the Rochester International Jazz Festival.
Sinha’s campaign is largely self-financed, while Lupien has touted that her campaign is relying on a bevy of small donors.
