Former Jersey City Board of Education President Mussab Ali raised $178,205.25 in his effort to become mayor between April 1st and June 30th, with $296,735.25 cash on hand, campaign finance reports show.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“We’re really proud of the momentum behind our campaign, and even more proud of our strong grassroots fundraising results. This is a campaign powered by working people, not special interests or shady contractors,” Ali said in a statement late this afternoon.
“We encourage everyone to read through the reports from each candidate and see exactly who is funding every campaign. We’re the only candidate to refuse any pay-to-play donations, and the results of that are clear: real support from real people.”
In his individual account, Ali raised $171,710.25, spent $81,408.59, and has $281,093.16 cash on hand, according to his July 15th report filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (NJ ELEC).
The vast majority of his donations were $1,000 or less and he did not receive any contributions from Hudson County politicos.
Ali Leadership Institute Co-founder and CEO Abeera Saeed, Ali’s sister, donated $5,400 and HUDSONPOINT capital Founder and Managing Partner Russ Zalatimo, another Jersey City resident, donated $2,500.
Washington, D.C.-based 4431 Consulting was paid $8,365.50 for political consulting, Athena Public Affairs PBC, also out of DC, received $3,110 for fundraising consulting, and Salman Capital Management is compensated $2,850 a month for office space rent, utilities, cable, and internet.
The Team Ali account raised $6,495, spent $37.42, and has $15,642.09 cash on hand, based on their July 15th ELEC report.
Their only donation listed was $6,000 from Warren Grover, of Short Hills, and their expenses were small ones at Dollar Dream, as well as nominal fees from ActBlue and Stripe.
Ali is currently in fourth place as far as fundraising goes in the non-partisan November 4th mayoral contest to succeed Steven Fulop, who unsuccessfully ran for governor rather than seeking a fourth term.
Former Gov. Jim McGreevey has raised the most campaign cash, followed by Ward E Councilman James Solomon, and then Hudson County Commissioner Bill O’Dea (D-2).
Editor’s note: This story was updated with a comment from Jersey City mayoral candidate Mussab Ali.
