With $75, Nancy Coye of Syracuse changed her long-standing attitude toward political donations. 

Coye, 62,  had never donated to a political campaign. This time, Matt Rayo, a local candidate with a family connection, changed her mind.

“He’s a friend of my son,” Coye said. “And I also happen to be registered in the Republican Party, so I would love to see him win.”

Coye is among the majority of donors — friends and relatives — to  Rayo’s campaign for the Common Council District 1 seat. Rayo is the Republican candidate challenging incumbent Michael Heagerty, who has held the seat since 2007 as a Democrat and is running this time as the Working Families Party’s candidate. District 1 includes the north central portion of Syracuse, including Northside and Washington Square.

The election is Nov. 3.

Rayo is counting on a lot of donations from friends and family to pay his campaign bills this election year. As of Oct. 23, Rayo had raised $3,877 in campaign money. And almost 90 percent of that money — $3,427 — has come from family or close personal friends.

“A lot of people are donating because they know me,” Rayo said. “And it’s great they’re showing their support by donating.”

With support from family and friends, Rayo has more money in the bank than Heagerty in the final days leading up to the election.

Here are some of the highlights of Rayo’s fund-raising, from reports by the New York State Board of Elections:

• As of Oct. 23, Rayo had raised a total of $3,877.
• Rayo has spent $2,073.
• That leaves Rayo with more money in the bank than Heagerty in the two weeks leading up to the election.
• Rayo has about $1,803 to spend. After taking out a $5,000 loan, Heagerty has about $1,347 to spend, according to his finance committee’s  report on Oct. 23.

About 93.5 percent of Rayo’s contributions — or $3,627 — are from named individuals. The lone group contribution was from Citizens for DeFrancisco. It’s fundraising committee for  State Sen. John DeFrancisco, a fellow Republican representing the 50^th  state Senate District. That state senate district includes Common Council District 1. DeFrancisco’s son, Jeff, held the District 1 seat for four years before stepping down in 2007.

Rayo’s updated October filing did not include two fundraisers held in the week of Oct. 19-23. One was held by Rayo’s grandmother, Joan, at her home on Brattle Road.

Another was given by a close friend, Republican Dale Sweetland, a former Onondaga County Legislator representing its 12^th district. Rayo worked on Sweetland’s campaign as the coordinator of volunteers in Sweetland’s unsuccessful bid for the 25^th Congressional District seat in 2008. Democrat Dan Maffei defeated Sweetland to succeed Republican Jim Walsh, who retired after 20 years in Congress.

For his part, Rayo is trying to gain ground on the money trail with face-to-face contact with voters . He can’t worry about how much his opponent is raising, he said.

“Sometimes people don’t always feel the need to contribute to a campaign,” Rayo said. “But if you’re the only one they see at their door, that might be what it takes to get their vote.”

Contributor Nancy Coye said she gave $75 to his campaign because of the family connection. Coye’s son, Andrew, is a friend of Rayo and fellow Syracuse University alum. Rayo and Coye both graduated from SU in 2008.

“I just thought I would help him out,” Coye said. “You don’t often see young people like Matt with good ideas.”

(Brett LoGiurato is a junior with dual majors in political science and newspaper journalism.)

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