State Rep. Steven Howitt will have a powerful ally when he runs for re-election this fall – $87,000 in campaign cash.
State Rep. Betty Poirier, R-North Attleboro, for instance, is an assistant minority leader in the House, but she has only $6,721 in her campaign account. Rep. Jay Barrows, R-Mansfield, an eight-year veteran of the House, has $24,500.
Despite the heft of his campaign war chest, Howitt is not in the same league as some of the Beacon Hill powerbrokers when it comes to raising money.
House Speaker Robert DeLeo has $262,000 in reserve, House Ways and Means Chairman Brian Dempsey has $419,000, Senate President Stanley Rosenberg has $230,000 and Sen. Mark Montigny, D-New Bedford, has a whopping $982,000.
Howitt reported raising $30,000 over the past several months, much of it from a fundraiser with Gov. Charlie Baker.
But, Howitt already had $60,000 in the bank before the fundraiser, and spent only $3,100 over the period.
He said he believes the donations are an indication his constituents like the job he is doing and evidence that hard work pays off.
Howitt said he was pleased that he received donations from Democrats, as well as Republicans and independents.
One Democrat who contributed was Steve Karol, the former state representative from Attleboro. He gave $200.
Some of the larger donations came from Diane Johnson of Rehoboth, $1,000; Benjamin and Sam Rubenstein of Horizon Beverage, $500 each; and Michael Epstein of Horizon Beverage, two donations of $500 each.
Democrat Paul Jacques of Rehoboth plans to run against Howitt in the fall, and he said he was not scared by the incumbent’s bankroll.
Jacques raised $11,950 from late November to late December. He spent $260, and had $11,690 in the bank at the end of the year. He said about $10,000 of his donations came in a 10-day span after he said he was running.
Jacques, an Attleboro firefighter and union official, got many of his donations from other firefighters and their associations, including $500 each from Boston Firefighters Local 718, Brockton Firefighters 144 and Mass. AFL-CIO.
The second biggest war chest in the area after Howitt belongs to the newest local lawmakers.
Rep. Shawn Dooley, R-Norfolk, who is only in his third year in the House, has saved up $36,500 for his re-election.
State Rep. Paul Heroux, D-Attleboro, reported to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance having $9,865 in his account.
Heroux acknowledged he has a relatively small account for someone who is likely to be targeted by the Republican Party.
Yet, he said he believes grass roots campaigning and hard work are more important in a local election than money. Still, he said he hopes to raise more before the election.
State Sens. Richard Ross, R-Wrentham, and James Timilty, D-Walpole, had not filed their end-of-the-year financial reports by late Wednesday afternoon.
Source Author:
JIM HAND SUN CHRONICLE STAFF
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