Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard
Link copied to clipboard

The first fund-raising information for Philly mayoral candidates is out. Here’s what we know.

Several of the candidates reported that their bank accounts had eclipsed a million dollars.

Democrats running for Philadelphia mayor in 2023 include (top, from left) Helen Gym, Derek Green, Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, Jeff Brown, Cherelle Parker (bottom, from left) Rebecca Rhynhart, James DeLeon, Allan Domb, and Amen Brown.
Democrats running for Philadelphia mayor in 2023 include (top, from left) Helen Gym, Derek Green, Maria Quiñones-Sánchez, Jeff Brown, Cherelle Parker (bottom, from left) Rebecca Rhynhart, James DeLeon, Allan Domb, and Amen Brown.Read moreInquirer staff

Two candidates hoping to become Philadelphia’s next mayor entered 2023 with more than $1 million in the bank, and a third took in more than seven figures last year, according to their campaigns.

The candidates are not required to disclose how much money they raised in 2022 until the end of the month, but on Tuesday six of the nine candidates vying for the Democratic nomination shared some preliminary fund-raising numbers with The Inquirer.

Former City Councilmember Helen Gym, who took in roughly $990,000 in 2022, and ex-City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart, who raised more than $800,000, each have more than a million dollars in their bank accounts.

Grocer Jeff Brown took in about $1,080,000, according to his campaign, but has less than half a million dollars in the bank. He has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars running television advertisements, and was the first candidate to air commercials.

All the mayoral candidates will file detailed campaign finance reports by the end of the month. Those filings will provide the clearest picture yet of who will have enough cash to buy advertising, pay their staff, and otherwise finance a campaign through the primary election in May.

Due to changes in campaign finance law, candidate fund-raising is no longer the all-important factor that it used to be. Candidates have won while raising less than $2 million, and independent expenditure committees — outside groups that can’t legally coordinate with the campaigns — are likely to outspend the candidates themselves.

But candidates still need to raise an adequate amount to fund their campaign staff, and their totals may prove to be a useful indicator of which candidates are serious contenders in an increasingly crowded race.

Gym was the first candidate to publicly disclose her haul, releasing a statement Tuesday afternoon touting that nearly 1,000 donors had contributed since her late-November campaign launch. She put $25,000 of her own money into the campaign.

Brown has so far donated $240,000 of his own money. That’s just below the threshold that would have required him to disclose to the city’s Board of Ethics that he has triggered what’s known as the “millionaire’s amendment,” a Philadelphia campaign finance rule that doubles how much money campaigns can raise from donors if any candidate gives their campaign $250,000 or more.

Another candidate, former Councilmember Allan Domb, triggered the provision last week, meaning he’s kicked in at least a quarter-million dollars to fund his bid. A campaign spokesperson said Tuesday he also raised about $729,000 from other donors, but did not provide the amount Domb has contributed himself.

» READ MORE: Mayoral candidate Allan Domb has triggered the ‘millionaire’s amendment’ for campaign fund-raising

Domb has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars already running television ads. He and Brown are the only candidates with commercials running.

Cherelle Parker, the ex-Council majority leader, finished 2022 with roughly $460,000 on hand, but did not disclose how much money she raised in 2022.

Derek Green, a former Council member, raised nearly $500,000 and has more than $450,000 in the bank, according to Frances Patano, a campaign spokesperson.

Former Councilmember Maria Quiñones Sánchez declined to release fund-raising figures Tuesday.

Two other Democratic candidates, State Rep. Amen Brown and retired Judge James DeLeon, didn’t respond to requests for information.

Thanks to the party’s more than 7-1 voter registration advantage, the winner of the Democratic primary on May 16 is all but guaranteed to win the general election in November and replace outgoing Mayor Jim Kenney.