Engaged in his third campaign for hometown office, City Council candidate Scott Malsin estimated this afternoon that he will need to raise between $35,000 and $40,000 for the April 10 election to the City Council.
He not only has comfortably made the nut in his first two successful drives, he raised $50,000 in his first run and donated the leftover funds to charity.
“Lawn signs, mailers, advertising, voter lists you obtain when you are sending out mailers,” Mr. Malsin said. “Those are the largest expenses you incur.”
When he was elected to his second Council term two spring seasons ago, he spent “a little over $40,000.”
He estimates the fund-raising record is held by Chamber of Commerce CEO Steve Rose, now recovering from heart surgery. Mr. Rose raised $60,000.
“The first time I ran, in 2006, I raised $50,000.
“You can, of course, spend less than that. When you design your mailpiece, in the past there has been a tendency to do multiple pages. Frankly, I am not sure those are the most effective forms because People probably don’t spend that much time on them.
“Post cards are very good, especially in the age of the internet,” Mr.Malsin believes.
“If you can get a (single) strong message across and encourage people to go to your website for additional information, you can convey an awful lot, cleanly, quickly, powerfully.
“That way people will have a good chance to learn more about aspects that interest them.”
Speaking of Money
On Saturday night, Mr. Malsin will host a fundraiser, Summit at the Lodge, from 6:30 to 8:30 at the Elks Lodge, 11160 Washington Pl.
Mr. Malsin’s campaign site is at scottmalsin.com