Rolley trails far behind Rawlings-Blake in fundraising
Former city planning director Otis Rolley has raised $129,500 toward his bid for mayor, a fraction of the more than $800,000 Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has on hand.
But Rolley said in an emailed statement announcing his campaign's financial status that he "could not be more pleased."
"We have a carefully crafted plan to win this election, and our fundraising is going better than expected," Rolley said.
A performance comedian Bill Cosby gave for Rolley supporters last week garnered headlines -- but didn't net a lot of money-- a little more than $42,000.
A competing fundraiser held a few blocks away for Rawlings-Blake drew many of the city's top developers, lobbyists and business leaders and raked in more than $600,000.
Rolley said that his campaign has "received an outpouring of small contributions from hard-working people" some of whom gave as little as $5 or $10.
"In our campaign, small contributions are huge.," Rolley said. "Our supporters have been getting the word out about our movement to take Baltimore to a new level of excellence and people are excited. People who typically do not give are giving."
Full financial disclosure forms for all mayoral candidates -- as many as seven people are contemplating a bid -- will be made public tomorrow.
Conventional wisdom holds that between $1 and $1.5 million is needed to win the city's top office. Candidates have until late early July to register with the state Board of Elections and, in heavily Democrat Baltimore, the race is generally decided by the September primary.
UPDATE: Rolley has spent nearly $23,000 on campaign expenses, according his campaign filings. He has about $106,000 cash on hand, about an eighth of what Rawlings-Blake has. He spent nearly $12,000 on events, including $5000 for rent and catering for the Tremont Grand Hotel where the Cosby event was held.
Comments
Who is this Rolley guy?
Posted by: MrRational | January 19, 2011 2:45 PM
Rolley seems like a nice guy, but I get the feeling that this is a warm up for something else. Maybe he wants to run for the State Senate. I'm not sure. Rawlings Blake is not beloved, but she seems to have a fair amount of support across racial and class lines. Furthermore, what makes Rolley interesting is the same thing that makes Rawlings Blake appealing - they are both young and well educated African Americans who have a passion for the city. Rolley simply does not stand out next to Rawlings Blake. He's cut from the same cloth. If he really wants to win he needs to do something dramatic. Maybe he should come out in favor of concealed carry or something.
Posted by: Ron | January 19, 2011 3:20 PM
Unfortunately, I think you're right, Ron. I predict that most people will probably view Rolley as too similar to Rawlings-Blake to gamble on supporting him. I think there really are significant differences between the two, though. Having heard Rolley speak, it’s obvious that he has a comprehensive view of where he wants the city to go and how he’s going to take it there. I’ve never gotten the same impression from Rawlings-Blake. I’ve always felt that Rawlings-Blake was mayor because that is just always what has been expected of her and what she was groomed for. Her administration is more about her than it is about Baltimore. I feel that for Rolley it’s the opposite. I get the sense that his administration would be about achieving a vision that he has for the city.
Posted by: Peter | January 19, 2011 4:11 PM
Peter is right. Rolley is not "just another" SRB. He actually has a vision. And, at least at this point, doesn't seem beholden to traditional city politics. I'm being him for precisely these reasons. Go to YouTube and listen to him speak. He's an impressive guy.
Posted by: Mark | January 19, 2011 4:28 PM
I agree with Mark and Peter.
With Rolley you get a true vision for the city
Plus, he is not part of the current political machine that runs this state..
SRB is nothing but a puppet of MOM.
We need new vision in this town.
Posted by: john | January 19, 2011 5:24 PM
SRB and Rolley are worlds apart. Rolley can connect with the people of Baltimore. SRB continues ride on the coat-tails of her father's name. ..and she continues to be disconnected from the people of Baltimore. She was a member of City Council for 13 years....what did she do? City Council president for 3 years...what did she do? NOTHING! So now the interim mayor wants to show she's what Baltimore needs.
Come on Baltimore...WAKE UP stop voting these do nothing politicians into office!
Posted by: Tiffany | January 19, 2011 6:14 PM
This race is about more than money.
The status quo political machine has a huge interest in maintaining things as they are. They're happy. No one's asking questions and huge projects get handed to the developers who play ball. No wonder SRB has raised the cash she has.
What's surprising is that the Sun's coverage has not discussed any substantive issues or ideas, but instead has decided to focus on money alone. Money won't win this race. Votes will win this race.
Also note that Rolley is the only candidate viable enough to even *try* to mount a credible opposition to the SRB / O'Malley machine.
Seven other potential candidates have been mentioned, but only as footnotes. You can bet that as the race thins out the alternative candidates will coalesce around Rolley, which will make his candidacy very strong very quickly.
Posted by: Believer | January 19, 2011 7:21 PM