Hispanic Latino Leaders Now, the Springfield-based SuperPAC that aimed to elect more Latinos to office in Massachusetts, filed its 2023 annual report last month. The document provides additional context of the extent of the group’s ambitions, essentially fulfilling promises to operate statewide. However, echoing the
UPDATED 1/11/24 11:41AM for additional information:
The mayoral race in Springfield may be long over and the victors have taken the oath. That, however, does not mean the work of campaign finance regulators have finished their work. Rather, several issues with Mayor Domenic Sarno’s campaign records had remained outstanding per auditors with the Massachusetts Office of Campaign & Political Finance.
Fortune put the date of the 2023 election on the second-latest possible date. That allowed time for one more round of campaign finance reports in the Springfield mayoral race. In October Mayor Domenic Sarno outraised his rival, at-large Councilor Justin Hurst, reversing a lag from the prior months.
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As the Springfield 2023 cycle meanders to conclusion, only a few candidates appear to be dominating the air war. Several at-large City Council candidates, including several who advertised during the preliminary, have also bought ad time. In the mayor’s race, however, the incumbent, Domenic Sarno, largely has the air to himself as October concludes.
SPRINGFIELD—Mayor Domenic Sarno and City Councilor Justin Hurst’s advancement to the mayoral preliminary was the result the city’s chattering classes had been expecting for nearly a year. However, a reductionist understanding of what happened risks missing real lessons in the wake of the election.
The July-August stretch of the Springfield mayoral campaign may become one of the most pivotal from the campaign finance perspective. It was in July that adult care mogul Cesar Ruiz deposited 100 large into a SuperPAC. Mayor Domenic Sarno also had his biggest haul since his massive December fundraising.
SPRINGFIELD—Since filing a pair of reports earlier this month, Hispanic Latino Leaders Now Independent Expenditure PAC (HLLN), has been busy. The SuperPAC, with a stated mission of electing Latinos and flush with cash from home care executive Cesar Ruiz, has begun to move into this year’s elections.
Thanks to his reelection war chest’s sheer size and robust monthly fundraising, Domenic Sarno still has the most money among Springfield mayoral candidates. Yet, his monthly burn rate has reached nearly $50,000. Money is not the only campaign finance story in June, though.
Patterns that began to emerge in April campaign finance reports for the Springfield mayoral race came into clearer focus in May. Incumbent Domenic Sarno took back the top fundraiser spot, but his monster spending put him into a deficit while two of his challengers kept building their reserves.
Challengers to Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno enjoyed some brisk fundraising as the race itself picks up speed. While May reports, which will be due in a few days, should show whether candidates can maintain this pace, the April numbers could alter some of the assumptions about the money race.