Where is the Big Money? The campaign money story, part 1

By Sarah Marshall

First, the two local Political Action Committees. Three years ago, the formation of Amherst Forward provoked many accusations and worries about Big and/or Dark Money entering local politics. At that time, and continuing today, Amherst Forward asks individuals to limit contributions to $52 per year. Now that a second PAC, the Progressive Coalition of Amherst, exists, we thought you might be interested in their financial reports covering Jan. 1 to Oct. 15 (called the 8th-day-preceding report).

Progressive Coalition of Amherst:

• Money on hand as of January 1: $0
• Total receipts through October 15: $3,808
• # of donors: at least 18
• # donations $50 or less: at least 2
• # donations more than $50-$100: 8
• # donations more than $100-$500 (the legal maximum): 8
• # $500 donations: 4
• In-kind donations received: $216.76
• Expenses: reported as $0 but since they ended with only $423.23 this seems odd.
• Liabilities: $293.27

Amherst Forward

• Money on hand as of January 1: $1,363.90
• Total receipts through October 15: $5,352
• # of donors: 105
• # donations $50 or less: 28
• #donations more than $50-$100: 74
• # donations more than $100-$500 (the legal maximum): 3
• # $500 donations: 0
• In-kind donations received: $39.97
• Expenses: $1,524.19
• Liabilities: $524.99

It looks to us like the Progressive Coalition was bankrolled by a small number of people, four of whom provided more than half of all donations by giving the maximum permitted contribution of $500.

It looks to us like Amherst Forward has a large base of small-money donors. No individual contributed more than $104.

You can view all campaign finance reports at: https://www.amherstma.gov/1327/Campaign-Finance-Reports