She might be leading the polls for her run for St. Petersburg’s top job (for now), but when it comes to campaign financing, Kathleen Ford is clearly falling behind.
Since April 15, Ford raised a thin $19,000 in cash and checks for her mayoral campaign, according to the most recent financial reporting.
To put those numbers in perspective, they are less than a third of the $58,213 raised by former City Council Member and Rep. Rick Kriseman since April 1. Kriseman is also looking to replace Mayor Bill Foster.
In fact, while Kriseman amassed a total of just under $110,000 for his entire campaign, Ford banked a relatively minor $20,860.
In addition to the $19,000, Ford loaned her campaign $2,000, as well as taking $3,337 of in-kind donations. With 148 separate contributions she received, only 10 came from businesses or organizations; of those, two are in-kind services provided by Ford’s own law firm. Not a dime came from unions or organized labor, and most offerings were well below the $500 maximum allowed by Florida law.
Foster has not yet released his second quarter 2013 financing numbers.
With the Aug. 27 primary only six weeks away, Ford may have nowhere to go but down.
With inadequate fundraising, as well as the flack Ford is starting to hear over four consecutive debate no-shows since her campaign qualified in June, she might begin to worry over her chances of becoming mayor in November.
