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Rilling campaign reports fund-raising advantage in final period

By Mark Chapman

Norwalk Rilling Moccia debate 102913 134
Democratic mayoral candidate Harry Rilling, left, and incumbent Republican Richard Moccia debate Tuesday in the Norwalk Inn.

NORWALK, Conn. – Democratic mayoral candidate Harry Rilling out-raised incumbent Republican Richard Moccia by nearly $20,000 in the final campaign finance reporting period before Tuesday election.

Friends of Rilling raised more than $46,000 in the 24 days ending Oct. 27, according to a Rilling campaign press release, while the Moccia campaign took in $27,950.

The Rilling campaign has raised more than $144,000 since February.

Moccia announced his candidacy for mayor Feb. 5 and was nominated at the Republican nominating convention July 22 with no opposition.

Rilling announced his candidacy Feb. 24 and went through a primary campaign to win the Democratic nomination Sept. 10.

“Every day, I meet more Norwalkers who are ready for new leadership in City Hall,” said Rilling, “and I am proud to have their support.”

This story will be updated.

 

Comments

16 responses to “Rilling campaign reports fund-raising advantage in final period”

  1. Oldtimer

    Fundraising results have to be a big disappointment for Moccia, with his incumbent advantage. They are probably a good indicator of how the voting will go.

  2. Don’t Panic

    I am not going to argue the point this time. They pretty much predicted the results of the primary.

  3. Tim T

    Rilling states

    “Every day, I meet more Norwalkers who are ready for new leadership in City Hall,”
    That’sodd because when Rilling was police consultant I met more Norwalkers who were ready for new leadership at the police department,”

  4. lael

    I think the newfound “enthusiasm” for Rilling’s campaign is a direct result of all those promises to everyone for everything. People are expecting promotions, speedbumps on their street, appointments to commissions, every cracked sidwalk fixed, tax reductions….sadly no one–including NON ever seems to ask HOW all of this is going to be done without raising our taxes. The journalists covering the City are doing a great disservice to the community by not demanding specifics from Mr. Rilling. Could his advertising dollars on this site have anything to do with the favorable coverage he seems to receive?

    1. Mark Chapman

      @LAEL

      Mr. Rilling has been asked by us and by others several times how he will pay for what he says he wants to do. Each time, his answer has been the same as Mayor Moccia’s response to his promise of a half million dollars in the current budget for additional school safety — go through the budget and find it someplace. Our favorite bit of disingenuous “how’s he going to pay for it” fluff came in response to Rilling’s education platform when Moccia went point-by-point, saying he was already doing each and every thing, then added, “And he doesn’t say how he’s going to pay for it.” And exactly where did the mayor find the money? And no, ad dollars make no difference at this particular news site. But we don’t expect you or certain others to believe that. So be it.

  5. lael

    Forgot to also mention (in the list of promises that I’ve heard people say Harry promised them as he’s out campaigning) is that Harry’s told people he will fire the head of personnel, the fire chief, the director of finance—all those people that work in City governement that the unions dislike–the people who save us taxpayers money. Feels like he’s saying literally ANYTHING to get votes. These tactics are so wrong and smack of personal ambition (and maybe greed at getting $200,000 a year?) not someone who’s truly motivated to what’s right for the city.

  6. lael

    @markchapman

    Thanks for your reply. I guess the difference in my mind is that there’s 8 years of history with Moccia and the result is AAA bond rating which these days is exceptionally hard to maintain. Whether people like him or not, he’s fiscally responsible and that’s not debatable.

    What will we get with Mr. Rilling? Who knows? If Moccia’s fuzzy on how he’s going to pay for one issue versus Mr. Rilling who won’t clearly provide ANY specifis or plans for his “infrastructure plan” to fix sidewalks and potholes, nor the Pre-K nor the 20 police officers he’s said going to hire. I really don’t see how you can compare the two of them in degrees of vagueness. He’s the challenger and has more to prove. I’m concerned there’s going to be massive spending that will really hurt our standing financially and raise our taxes dramatically. I listened very carefully to the debates and all I heard from Mr. Rilling “change.” Times are tough and most of us can’t afford to pay more in taxes when we’re worried about our jobs. We deserve better from someone who wants to lead us and I still maintain that tougher questions should be asked. You have the power to put him on the record so we know what we’re getting. I don’t feel that’s happened. It’s been a bit of a Rilling love-fest in the press.

    Thanks again for taking the time to respond to me.

  7. Piberman

    The reported $700 contribution by the NFT’s head Bruce Mellion speaks quite loudly about what the NFT expects from a Rilling administration – $26.5 million per their Sept Vanguard monthly. Alas how easy politics would be if all it took was just raising money. CT’s recent history suggests it takes more than just raising the most money.

    1. Mark Chapman

      @piberman

      You keep misquoting the September issue of The Vanguard, in which Mellion makes his case for the $26.5 million that has been cut from the school budget requests since Moccia was elected. NOWHERE does he or anyone say they demand or expect that money to be restored. Facts.

  8. Moccia is Delusional

    Mr. Rilling is going to win – hands down. The city will be catapulted into a great city and all will benefit.

    We thank Moccia for all his hard work over the years, but it’s time pass the torch. You’re old, old thinking and could potentially ruin the city.

    No different than having the son of a electrician take over the business to bring it to the next level.

  9. lael

    @mark chapman

    $26.5 million has been cut from REQUESTS but the BOE has received a 30% increase in funding over the last 10 years and I read that myself in the City’s Budget which is available online.

    Just because the BOE asks for something, doesn’t mean they really need it or should get it. I was stunned to see that BOE gets 62% of all the city’s revenues leaving only 39% to run Police, Fire, DPW, Library, Parks & Rec. So $2 of every $3 we take in already goes to BOE! How much more do they expect from us? Guess we’ll find out if Mr. Rilling gets elected. Without massive tax increases, we could never afford to “fully fund” the BOE. They suck up too much of what we take in already and yet they want more.

    1. Mark Chapman

      @lael

      I didn’t say I agreed or disagreed. And yes, the requests always have “extras” in them. I have never, in any town or city, seen a budget request that wasn’t sent back for trimming. My quibble was with the assertion that somehow the union is asking or demanding or expecting it to be “paid back.” There will always be a reality gap between the budget requests and what can actually be accepted. The key is to find the balance. We believe education needs to be the No. 1 priority, but that does not mean writing a blank check.

  10. lael

    @Mark

    Education in this city is clearly already the #1 priority. In fact, there’s hardly any money left for anything else since 62% of our total resources are already allocated to BOE. And since our teachers are the 5th highest paid in the state, I’d say we have made BOE spending THE priority. Taxpayers who have no kids in the schools are doing more than our fair share now. My issue is that when these BOE requests are covered in the press, the insinuation is that the “republican” mayor is leaving BOE “not fully funded” and readers get the message that the BOE is somehow being short-changed. Nothing could be further from the truth. It would be great if NON would do some informative reporting on how the city’s money is already being spent (pie charts) so the voters understood where our money is going. I think if the average person understood what I saw when I took the time to read the budget, they’d flip out at the thought of giving them even more money. And maybe the parents who are so quick to protest outside city hall when the Council votes down a request will realize that the BOE–like the rest of us–have to live within our means. Time for a reality check. I’m very concerned that if elected, a mayor Rilling will break us financially. People like me will move out of Norwalk if its going to become a Bridgeport tax-wise. Enough is enough. I’m sick of politicians making expensive promises WE are stuck paying for. In the old days, journalists didn’t report spin, they reported facts and debates were discussions of substance. Quibble though you will, the unions are most definitely expecting the city administrators they don’t like to be fired, they’ve been promised promotions and spending and appointments to commissions so they’ll have “respect.” The Fire Dept got an 8.5% total increase and a new HQ and that’s not enough for them? Many of us know people who work for the city and they gleefully tell of the promises they are getting from Mr. Rilling for their support. Get out there and ask these people and you’ll hear them, too.

  11. M Allen

    To be fair, we needn’t be concerned whether or not Mr. Rilling made promises. Promises are not required to arrive at the conclusion that he is the logical choice for the unions to support. Former union member, former union head, long-time boss to union members. Out of the two, he’s the obviously more favorable candidate for a union to deal with. Wouldn’t you choose to negotiate with your brother over someone else’s money than another party with an opposing interest?
    .
    As for education and all the rest: cap the budget, cap tax increases. Period, end of story. Allow for modest growth, but cap the budget at a specified growth rate. We all need to learn to live within our means. If that results in cuts, then so be it. You don’t get to have all 1,000 channels on your TV if you can’t afford milk for your kid.

  12. Piberman

    Mr Chapman

    Why don’t you publish the Sept issue of the NFT Vanguard so readers could make their own interpretations. Nancy’s hadn’t been too anxious to report on the Vanguards when they are sent to you. I suppose they’re not too important. Similarly the $700 contribution by the NFT head wasn’t worth mentioning either. Nor have you identified the total of all union contribution’s to the Chief’s campaign. You might compare that total with union contributions to the Mayors campaign. Just to dispel any doubts about partiality.

    1. Mark Chapman

      Mr. Berman,

      You seem to forget you have even noted we are the ONLY ones to write about The Vanguard — twice — and give links. Th reason is the other news outlets don’t think anyone really cares. The Vanguard is your obsession. We are not going to publish the NFT newsletter every month because we will then have to publish everybody’s newsletter — in the interest of fairness. There is no nuance to be found in The Vanguard re: your repeated claim that the union is expecting or demanding $26.5 million be restored. The comment is that the $26.5 million is the total cut from budget requests since the mayor was elected in 2005. Period. As for Mellion’s donation, everyone knows who he is. Most have no idea who the folks from Long Island are who donated nearly $10,000 to the mayor’s campaign. Uber-partisans see partiality in anything that doesn’t support their view, and nothing will change that.

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