In Fund-Raising Efforts, Espada Out in Front

Last week, state legislators running for reelection, and those challenging them, filed financial disclosure reports with the state's Board of Elections.  Those reports are now listed on the Board's website.  To see how much money a candidate has raised, click here and enter their name.

In the 33rd District senate race, the picture looks like this:

• Pedro Espada Jr. (incumbent) has raised $81,775 since March, and a total of  $386,225 since the beginning of last year. 
• Gustavo Rivera has raised $65,535. 
• Daniel Padernacht, $19,405.   
• Fernado Tirado, $2,335.

To see how much candidates have spent, click here and search by name.  (For Padernacht, search "Citizens for a Brighter New York.")

A few initial observations:

• Espada, the chair of the senate's Housing Committee, received a glut of money from the real estate industry, which is only likely to fuel critics' arguments that he sides with landlords over tenants. He also received big bucks from several beverage companies, as have many state legislators who opposed Gov. David Paterson's "sugar tax."
• Rivera received $6,000 from the union 1199 SEIU, whom he once worked for but has not yet officially been endorsed by. 
• Tirado has spent all the money he's so far raised. 
• Staples has been doing some good business these past few months. 

In the coming days, we'll try and delve a bit deeper - who gave what to whom, what this means, etc.  In the meantime, feel free to chime in with your own thoughts (no personal attacks please) in the comments section.

By the way, unlike in city races, candidates in state races don't receive matching funds, so what they raise is what they get.  Earlier this year, Paterson proposed overhauling this system in an effort to fight corruption.