For campaign dollars, Republican William “Bill” Meyer, the 20-year incumbent, is trailing his challenger for the District 3 seat in the Onondaga County Legislature.

Democrat Ed Szczesniak has raised almost twice as much campaign money as Meyer, according to campaign finance reports with the New York State Board of Elections. 

Meyer is the legislature chairman and is seeking his 10th consecutive term. District 3 includes Cicero and Manlius. The election is November 3.

Since the start of 2009, Meyer received donations from 68 named individuals for his re-election campaign. Some people have donated more than once. And Meyer is also raising less money than he has in past campaigns.

As of October 28, a look at the campaign finance reports shows this picture of  how much Meyer has raised and spent:

• He’s raised $14,699 in contributions. That compares to $26,779 for Szczesniak.
• 42 percent of Meyer’s funds — or $6,235 — came from named individuals. The rest came from donors who gave less than $100 are not itemized,  political action committees, unions and businesses.
  •Meyer spent $14,091.
• Of that, 30 percent — or $4,212.61 — went to the post office or other mailing services. The rest went to other political committees, online advertising and reimbursements.

This year, three people donated to Meyer’s campaign on two separate occasions. Arthur Vinette is one of them. And he doesn’t even live in District 3 — he lives in the city of Syracuse. Vinette describes his faith in Meyer this way:

“He’s a good friend. He’s a man of integrity. I know that to be a fact.” (Arthur Vinette of Syracuse).

Compared to the 2007 election, Meyer is behind this year in money raised. In 2007, he raised $28,896. This amount is from the same January 1-to-October 28 time frame as Meyer’s contributions this election year.

Over his years in office, the finance reports show, Meyer has built a core of repeat donors. A dozen contributors  gave money to him both in 2007 and this year. Terry Pickard is one of them. He says he likes the work Meyer has done so far.

“I’ve seen him handle the budget matters of the county real well. And he’s always been very good on county issues. I appreciate his work on behalf of the whole county.” (Terry Pickard of Manlius).

Ferdinand Picardi also gave money to Meyer’s campaign. He says Meyer’s background and wisdom mattered.

“He’s knowledgeable, he’s honest, and he’s got experience.” (Ferdinand Picardi of Fayetteville).

A reminder: The election is November 3.

I’m Chris Shepherd reporting for Democracywise.

(Chris Shepherd is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism with a minor in psychology.)

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