Janey reports $0 raised in Jan.
Acting-mayor-in-waiting says she’s focusing on transition
City Council President Kim Janey says she didn’t raise a single dollar in January — a month during which she regularly drew headlines about how she was soon to become acting mayor and might potentially run for a full term.
Janey’s monthly campaign bank statement, which hit the state’s Office of Campaign & Political Finance public database Wednesday, reported little activity, saying she’d brought in literally $0.00 in contributions and spent $6,674, bringing her total cash on hand to $90,292.
This came during a month that Janey was showing various indications that she might be running for mayor following President Biden’s choice announced Jan. 7 of Mayor Martin Walsh as Labor secretary. Janey announced Jan. 12 that she had hired heavy-hitter political comms outfit Northwind Strategies, and, through them, said she was “seriously considering” a run of her own.
Janey’s campaign stuck by the numbers the bank reported for her account, saying she simply hasn’t been seeking to raise funds.
“At this crucial time, President Janey’s sole focus is on a seamless transition for the people of Boston — not fundraising — as she becomes their Mayor,” said Janey spokeswoman Sarina Tracy, who works for Northwind.
Janey’s monthly bank statement didn’t show any payment to Northwind, the firm of Doug Rubin, who’s been a high-profile adviser to former Gov. Deval Patrick and U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren. The campaign said the cash heading to the bigname firm will be reflected in February’s report.
Most of the money Janey spent in January went to digital political firm Apollo Artistry, per the OCPF, which says Janey’s campaign noted that was for “website” work.
The OCPF says candidates are required to deposit all contributions into an approved campaign bank account within seven days. The bank sends the end-of-month report to the state.
As Janey stood pat, the other people running for mayor raked in large sums. City Councilors Andrea Campbell and Michelle Wu, who both have been running for mayor since September, brought in more than a quarter of a million dollars each: $270,289 in and $40,604 out for Campbell, and $256,193 in and $49,833 out for Wu.
City Councilor Annissa Essaibi-George, who announced her own run last week, reported to OCPF $59,530 in and $16,803 out, according to data made public on Wednesday. The previous day, her campaign had claimed $110,000 had come in for the month; on Wednesday, a spokeswoman said that discrepancy was due to the fact that nearly all of her dough came in at the end of the month, so much of it won’t show up until February.
State Sen. Nick Collins, who’s also considering a run, showed increased activity in January, raising $88,112 and spending $56,559, though most of his contributions are tagged in the state system as actually coming in December.
State Rep. Jon Santiago, who’s also weighing a run, didn’t make much noise, following up a December in which he raised more than $21,800 with a January in which he raised $1,196 and spent $1,125.
Janey has been council president since January 2020. During that time, she’s reported eight months of not a single dollar coming in, and two more months of less than $1,000.