DA Darcel Clark outpacing Tess Cohen in fundraising for Democratic primary

With the June primary only weeks away, District Attorney incumbent Darcel Clark has nearly four times the amount of contributions made in her name to challenger Tess Cohen.

Clark has received just under $185,000 in total contributions, and has a $240,000 balance, according to the city campaign finance board disclosures. Her challenger started the most recent election cycle with $32,000, has received a little more $49,000 in total contributions and has $40,000 outstanding loans from herself. She currently has $99,000 in expenses and has a $22,000 balance.

Clark has spent nearly $36,000 with expenditure payments going to Culver Place Strategies, R&J Strategies, Stripe, and more, with some explanations being campaign consultation, fundraising, and reimbursement.

As for Cohen, expenditure payments have gone to Left Rising LLC, Wren Collective, Gusto, Inc., Stoll, Glickman & Bellina, LLP and more, with some explanations being campaign consultation, campaign worker salaries, fundraising, reimbursement, and professional services.

When asked by The Riverdale Press how Cohen was funding her campaign, she said she was soliciting donations in “all the normal ways,” and not taking money from real estate and law enforcement unions. Otherwise contributors have been mostly just people interested in the race, who know Cohen, and believe she can do good in the job.

Nathan Smith, who runs Clark’s campaign, noted how many unions and organized labor organizations have donated to Clark’s campaign.

Some of the political action committees listed on New York state’s disclosure reports are Plumbers Local Union No. 1 NYC, Communication Workers of America 1180, Sheet Metal Workers Local 28, Bricklayers & Allied Craftworkers Local, and NYS Laborers PAC.

Dinowitz campaign funds reported

Data from the city’s campaign finance board shows District 11 candidate and incumbent Eric Dinowitz has received nearly $58,000 in private funds ranging from students, teachers, book editors, security guards, and attorneys to legislators.

So far Dinowitz has spent just under $34,000 of these contributions, his expenditure payments going to the New York State Democratic Committee, North Shore Strategies, Red Horse Strategies, and many more, with explanations such as Zoom payments, Squarespace payments, email, canvassing, campaign consultation, legal retainers, web hosting, and Stripe fees.

Comparatively when Dinowitz ran for District 11 in 2021 he received $50,000 in private funds and $157,000 in public funds.

The campaign finance board site does not currently list any public funds that Dinowitz has earned for the 2023 election cycle.

Robert Caemmerer is running against Dinowitz as a Conservative Party candidate, and is not a participant in the matching funds program. His campaign is considered a “small campaign,” according to the CFB site.

Caemmerer told The Riverdale Press that he currently does not have any contributions, nor a website for people to donate money, and does not have any “definitive plans at the moment.”