Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer raised just over $41,000 for her campaign before backing out of the race, according to a July 12th filing with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission. 
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
According to her latest filing, the Mile Square City mayor raised $41,182.17 between April 1st and July 30th.
ELEC Deputy Director Joe Donohue said in an email that Zimmer’s 2nd quarter report had been filed on time and was briefly taken offline “due to a staff mistake.”
The report has since been made available on their website again.
Notable contributors include Councilman-at-Large James Doyle, who is on colleague Ravi Bhalla’s ticket, and Hudson County Sheriff Frank Schillari, who both gave $3,000 on April 17th.
April 17th was a big night for the Zimmer team, as the mayor co-hosted a fundraiser with now-Democratic gubernatorial nominee Phil Murphy, with a number of Hudson County Democratic Organization mainstays showing their support as well.
Phil Cohen, who has since been voted the 1st Vice Chair of the Hoboken Democratic Committee, also wrote a check to Zimmer’s for $1,000 on April 1st.
In the same report, it is noted that Patrick Quinn was refunded $1,700 for an excessive contribution on April 8th, while David Lehmkhuhl, the Academy Bus Vice President of Real Estate, was refunded $600 on June 2nd.
No reason was provided on the report as to why Lehmkuhl was refunded, but he has recently been spotted supporting the mayoral candidacy of 1st Ward Councilman Mike DeFusco.
Drew Moss, the longtime campaign treasurer for Zimmer, told Hudson County View that two other donors had asked for refunds since the mayor had decided not to run in the November 7th election, though said he could not reveal the particulars due to “privacy issues.”
He added that their names, as well as the dollar amount that they were each refunded, would be available by October 15th.
When asked what Zimmer planned on doing with the $63,540.92 balance in her account, Moss said the team hadn’t yet had a chance to discuss what to do with the remaining funds.
On June 20th, Zimmer announced she would not be seeking a third term and endorsed Bhalla for mayor.
The incumbent has since been aggressive in campaigning with the Bhalla team, which also includes newcomers John Allen and Emily Jabbour.
