Contributions Piling Up in Race for Mayor

9:15 p.m. | Updated Bill de Blasio, the New York City public advocate, reached a crucial milestone in his bid for mayor on Tuesday when his campaign reported that he had raised all the money he is allowed to spend in the coming primary.

William C. Thompson Jr., a former city comptroller, is on track to hit the maximum soon, according to his campaign, having collected $600,000 in the last two months. That was almost double what he did in the previous fund-raising cycle.

Both still lag behind Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and fellow Democrat, who reported more than a year ago that she had reached the maximum amount for the primary. Ms. Quinn has since raised enough money for a possible runoff and is now soliciting contributions for a general election. During the last two months, for instance, she raised $510,000.

The disclosures were among the highlights of a busy day in New York City’s campaign finance world, as candidates for all offices began releasing preliminary figures regarding their fund-raising efforts in the two months that ended on Saturday. The full reports — including detailed accounts on spending, individual donors and top fund-raisers — must be submitted to the city’s Campaign Finance Board by Wednesday.

Candidates taking part in the city’s voluntary and relatively generous campaign finance program can spend no more than $6.73 million each in the primary, in part from money they raise and in part from matching funds.

In a statement, Mr. de Blasio said his campaign raised $240,000 in the latest period. That includes more than $75,000 in amounts of $175 or less, which, under the city’s $6-to-$1 matching system, would net $450,000 in public money.

“We intend to build on this momentum as we raise resources for the runoff and general election,” his campaign manager, Bill Hyers, said.

For Mr. Thompson, the $600,000 collected was another strong showing after a relatively sluggish start. The bulk of that money came in the last couple of weeks, after Mr. Thompson hired some new staff members and unveiled a string of notable endorsements, including from Merryl H. Tisch, the chancellor of the State Board of Regents, who became his campaign chairwoman, and Richard Ravitch, a former lieutenant governor.

“The campaign is kicking into high gear at the appropriate time,” Mr. Thompson’s chief strategist, Jonathan Prince, said in a conference call with reporters. “We expect to max out. We will certainly have all the money we need.”

The Democratic field also includes the city comptroller, John C. Liu, who reported raising $104,000 while spending $225,000.

Mr. Liu’s campaign said that his collections, too, had reached the spending cap and that he was now eligible for matching funds. But many campaign finance experts doubt he will receive them, because two of his associates, including his former campaign treasurer, were recently convicted on federal charges related to an illegal campaign finance scheme.

The competition could grow to include a very prominent Democrat: former Representative Anthony D. Weiner. He has almost raised the maximum amount he could spend in a primary.

On the Republican side, much of the attention was focused on Joseph J. Lhota, a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, whose campaign said he had raised $558,000. He had collected $730,000 in the first filing for his candidacy, in March.

Adolfo Carrión Jr., a former Bronx borough president and former Democrat who is running on the Independence Party line, divulged disappointing figures. He collected only $18,000 and said in a statement that his fund-raising “demonstrates just how many donors still view our politics as a two-party proposition and the concern some have about the political consequences of giving to an independent campaign at this time.”

This post has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: May 14, 2013

The headline with an earlier version of this article misspelled the surname of a mayoral candidate. He is Joseph J. Lhota, not Lhoto.

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Cuomo Picks Syracuse Mayor Miner and Assemblyman Wright to Lead N.Y. Democratic Party

Mr. Cuomo’s nominees are Mayor Stephanie A. Miner of Syracuse and Assemblyman Keith L. T. Wright of Manhattan, who is also chairman of the Manhattan Democratic Party. They are expected to be approved by the State Democratic Committee early next month.

“Mayor Miner and Assemblyman Wright are outstanding leaders both for our party and our state,” the governor said in a statement. “They have been dedicated community leaders and champions of the key missions of the Democratic Party.”

Ms. Miner and Mr. Wright would succeed Jay S. Jacobs, who was installed as party chairman in 2009 by Gov. David A. Paterson. Mr. Jacobs announced his plans to resign last week, a few months ahead of the scheduled end of his term in September.

At a meeting in Albany this week, the state party planned to propose an amendment to its bylaws to allow the party chairmanship to be split between two people. The party would then consider the nominations of Ms. Miner and Mr. Wright on June 5.

In a phone interview, Mr. Wright said he intended to stay on as Manhattan chairman. “The only plan that I have is to elect as many Democrats as possible and to make sure that the state goes in the Barack Obama column, and with Senator Gillibrand carrying on for six more years,” he said, referring to Kirsten E. Gillibrand, who is running this year for a full term.

Mr. Wright added that he had never met Ms. Miner, but said, “I’m told she’s an absolutely dynamic woman.”

Ms. Miner, who once worked as a regional representative for Mr. Cuomo’s father, former Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, said that having two leaders would help ensure that the perspectives of Democrats from all corners of the state were represented.

“I think it’s important for upstate voices to be represented,” Ms. Miner said in a phone interview, adding, “The more voices we have represented, the better off we’re going to be.”

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Chicago mayor rallies Obama support in Iowa (AP)

DES MOINES, Iowa – Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel launched an ardent defense of President Barack Obama in Iowa on Saturday, telling local Democrats that in order to create security for the middle class, "we just can't cut our way to prosperity."

Obama's former chief of staff rallied about 1,300 people during the Iowa Democratic Party's largest annual fundraiser in Des Moines. Emanuel told the crowd that Republicans want to solve the nation's debt problem only through spending cuts, while Obama favors a balanced approach of cuts and tax increases.

"To create true middle-class security, we can't just cut our way to prosperity," Emanuel said. "We must out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the world."

Emanuel said Obama has made crucial, tough decisions based on his principles to help the country — and not in an attempt to lay the groundwork for a second term in the White House. And he asked the crowd whose judgment they wanted leading the country during such a critical economic time.

"In the next four years, there will be more challenges and more crises that will determine the economic vitality of the middle class and the economic future of this country," Emanuel said. "Whose character, whose judgment do you want in that office?"

Obama has a solid history in Iowa. His surprising win in the state's precinct caucuses four years ago launched him on the road to the White House, and he easily carried the state in the 2008 general election.

Emanuel's appearance in the key early-caucus state was a chance for Democrats to grab attention from several Republican presidential candidates making their case to social conservatives across town. Emanuel used the opportunity to criticize GOP candidate Mitt Romney, even though Romney wasn't in Iowa.

The mayor cited the sharply different views that Obama and Romney had on rescuing the auto industry and propping up the nation's financial system. He argued that Obama's views have been proven right, while Romney's stance to not offer federal financial assistance would have destroyed the two key industries.

Emanuel also said Romney has flip-flopped in his political views, such as taking a more conservative stance on abortion and gun control.

"Mitt Romney says he's a man of steadiness and consistency. If that's true, then I'm a linebacker for the Chicago Bears," said the slim, 5-foot-8 1/2 mayor.

In an interview before the event, Emanuel said he was looking forward to the prospect of a lengthy, heated Republican primary race — and the exposure it gives to the GOP candidates.

"I think a lot of people want to see it over quickly, and I don't think they're going to get that," he said.

Sounding the populist theme that Obama has been offering in recent weeks, Emanuel also said the president is focused less on the difficulty of his tasks as president and more on the struggles of the American middle class.

"He continues to help them try to get their feet back on the ground. That's the struggle he's worried about, not his struggle," Emanuel said.

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