Suffolk D.A. candidates show uneven progress on fundraising
Henning opens lead with cop cash
With five candidates vying for the Suffolk County District Attorney seat soon to be vacated by Dan Conley, political observers say competition for votes during the Sept. 4 primary will be tight.
In the four months leading up the primary, raising money for the staff, mailers and advertising necessary to reach voters in the county’s four municipalities — Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop — is an imperative. Fundraising also can serve as an early indicator of a candidate’s relative strength in the race.
Between the highest-grossing of the five candidates and the lowest is a gulf of more than $100,000 — a wide spread even this early in the race.
The totals
At the head of the pack is former Assistant District Attorney Greg Henning, who headed the Gang Unit in the Suffolk County office, with more than $162,833. Henning, who began his fundraising effort with a $10,000 loan to his campaign, hauled in an impressive $41,458 in the first two weeks.
Next in line is former defense attorney and antiviolence activist Shannon McAuliffe, who has raised $114,565 since she received her first donation Feb. 7. McAuliffe was the first candidate in the race, originally intending to go head-to-head with Conley before he announced he would not run.
Below the six-digit range are attorney Rachael Rollins, who has raised $58,280; state Rep. Evandro Carvalho, who has amassed $51,289 — a sum that includes $24,259 he had raised as a legislator prior to his entry in the DA race; and attorney Linda Champion, a late entrant in the race who had raised $26,601 between March 29 and April 30.
The funds will be critical in what many expect will be a low-turnout Democratic primary, scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 4 — the day after the Labor Day holiday.
“To run a successful campaign you need to pay a staff,” said Boston political consultant Wilnelia Rivera. “You have to have contact with high-frequency voters.”
Rivera noted that low-frequency voters — who include people of color, progressives and low-income voters — cost more money to reach than high-frequency voters, who tend to be older and more heavily white.
A law enforcement focus
Henning’s preeminence in fundraising may be a double-edged sword in the current political environment of criminal justice reform. He has raised a total of $32,925 from police officers, a feat that sets him apart from the other four candidates, three of whom haven’t logged a single contribution from a cop working in Suffolk County. Carvalho received $800 from a Boston police officer. Champion received $250 from a Cambridge cop. Shannon McAuliffe received a $100 contribution from a Provincetown detective.
Henning’s outsized support from law enforcement could influence performance on the job, notes former Boston City Councilor Tito Jackson.
“It does matter where your money comes from,” Jackson said. “It matters because these are the people you’ve spoken with the most, and they most agree with your politics, based on their willingness to give.”
Across the country, district attorneys’ often close relationships with police departments have come into sharp focus in recent years. Reform-minded district attorneys in cities such as Philadelphia and Baltimore have clashed with police while investigating police corruption and pushing for lower incarceration rates for nonviolent offenders.
In candidate debates so far, criminal justice reform has taken a front seat in this year’s race, the first competitive contest for the position since Conley was elected in 2002. Many local political activists are marching in sync with the ACLU of Massachusetts “What a Difference a DA Makes” campaign, seeking to educate the general public on the role prosecutors have in shaping criminal justice policy. The next Suffolk County district attorney will likely have considerable influence on the implementation of criminal justice reforms passed into law by the Legislature this year, including the elimination of mandatory minimum sentences for some non-violent offenses.
Henning has also raised $4,450 from donors identifying themselves as assistant district attorneys — including $500 from Conley — again, more than any other candidate. That, along with a healthy contingent of Suffolk County prosecutors seen holding signs at a standout before the April 9 candidate forum held by Jamaica Plain Progressives and the contributions from the law enforcement side could signal that Henning would be less likely than other candidates to rock the boat in the office.
