Albany, New York Campaign Spending Mayoral
Article published July, 2025.
Introduction
As a follow up to our 2025 Albany Democratic Primary Mayoral Campaign Contributions story, we analyzed the campaign expenditures by each of the four Democratic primary candidates: Dorcey Applyrs, Daniel Cerutti, Corey Ellis, and Carolyn McLaughlin.
All data reported in this story reflects expenditures made between January 1st, 2024 through Tuesday, June 24th, 2025 which was the date of the primary. Our goal was to see where each of the candidates deployed their resources, and, to a lesser extent, explain how that may have impacted the results of the primary.
All data used in this analysis was obtained from NYS board of elections website.
The table below lists contributions and expenditures for each of the candidates between Jan 2024 through June 24th, 2025. The Cerutti campaign expenditures were 97% of the total contributions they had received in this period. The Applyrs, Ellis, and McLaughlin campaigns exceeded expenditures relative to the campaign contributions they received over this same period by 115%, 402%, and 152%, respectively.
| Candidate | Contributions | Expenditures |
|---|---|---|
| Dorcey Applyrs | $257,380.04 | $295,277.25 |
| Dan Cerutti | $330,482.09 | $320,819.30 |
| Corey Ellis | $19,364.00 | $77,843.65 |
| Carolyn McLaughlin | $55,192.06 | $83,826.66 |
Categorizing Expenditures
To better look at expenditures, we split all items under “Expense Code” into four groups: Advertising & Media, Consulting & Strategy, Fundraising & Donations, and Operations & Overhead.
Advertising & Media, which includes:
- Television Ads
- Radio Ads
- Online Ads
- Campaign Mailings
- Campaign Literature
- Lawn Signs
Consulting & Strategy, which includes:
- Campaign Consultant
- Polling Costs
Fundraising & Donations, which includes:
- Fundraising
- Non-Political Donations
- Political Contributions
- Meals
Operations & Overhead, which includes:
- Office
- Bank Fees
- Postage
- Reimbursement
- Petition Expenses
- Professional Services
Campaign Expenditures
The results of this grouping are shown in the figure above. Observations on the data include:
- Cerutti outspent the other candidates in Advertising & Media and Operations & Overhead, spending $103k (31%) and $134k (42%), respectively.
- In Advertising & Media and Operations & Overhead, Applyrs spent $40k and $60k less, which also translated to a smaller percentage of her total expenditures, 20% and 24% respectively.
- The Applyrs campaign outspent Cerutii in both Consulting & Strategy and Fundraising & Donation, spending $103k (35%) and $30k (10%), respectively.
- The bulk of the Ellis campaign expenditures were used on Operations & Overhead ($46k, or 59%) and Advertising & Media ($16k, or 20%).
- McLaughlin divided her expenditures between Advertising & Media ($41k, or 49%) and Operations & Overhead ($39k, or 47%).
We then examined all spending by expense code for each of the four groups. Our primary goals were 1) to identify where (organizations and people) the campaigns spent their money, 2) to determine if spending hinted (to some degree) at the primary results and 3) to denote the expenditures within and outside of Albany. For this last point, in the tables below we use either a Gray or Blue background, indicating outside of Albany but still within NY or outside of NY, respectively.
For Advertising & Media, Consulting & Strategy, and Operations & Overhead we elected to only list a few of the larger items under each category rather than every expenditure to better streamline the discussion herein and discussion that might extend beyond this story. We do note some of the smaller expenditures that fall under Fundraising & Donations, especially to those also seeking elected positions because these expenditures might signal endorsements, strategic cooperation, or shared values between candidates, to name a few.
Advertising and Media Expenditures
Cerutti’s Advertising and Media – Significant Expenditures
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| 72 | $7,041.11 | Online Ads | |
| Google LLC | 26 | $9,797.14 | Online Ads |
| REM Digital Print And Mail Center | 5 | $20,879.61 | Campaign Literature
Campaign Mailings Lawn Signs |
| Alchar Printing Group | 11 | $19,435.68 | Campaign Mailings |
| Sentron Associates Inc | 5 | $10,807.64 | Campaign Mailings |
Cerutti spent over $100k on Advertising and Media, which was almost as much as all the other candidates combined.
In addition to the above, Cerutti spent $21,229.60 on television and radio ads. These expenditures seem to indicate that the Cerutti campaign spent a significant portion of Advertising & Media towards ads in different media platforms, including Facebook and Google.
Applyrs’ Advertising and Media – Significant Expenditures:
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Elections | 11 | $36,288.54 | Campaign Literature Campaign Mailings
Online Ads |
| REM Digital Print And Mail Center | 2 | $5,572.87 | Campaign Literature
Lawn Signs |
| Common Good Strategies | 1 | $16,125.00 | Television Ads |
Compared with Cerutti, Applyrs’ campaign only spent $882.09 directly on both Google and Facebook.
Ellis’ Advertising and Media – Significant Expenditures
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Postmaster Albany | 4 | $6,082.56 | Campaign Mailings |
| REM Digital Print And Mail Center | 4 | $9,414.10 | Campaign Literature
Campaign Mailings Lawn Signs |
The Ellis campaign only had two major expenses for Advertising & Media and had no expenses to Facebook, Google, or other Media for advertisements
McLaughlin’s Advertising and Media – Significant Expenditures
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| ACS Printing | 7 | $2,818.96 | Campaign Literature
Campaign Mailings |
| Deep Blue Politics | 2 | $14,343.48 | Campaign Mailings |
| Majestic Media Group | 2 | $18,703.00 | Television Ads |
| Sign Rocket | 1 | $5,100.00 | Lawn Signs |
The McLaughlin campaign had a focus on printed literature, mailings and TV ad buys.
Consulting & Strategy Expenditures
We next examined Consulting & Strategy. Applyrs spent nearly double the expenses of all other candidates combined. Only Cerutti spent a significant amount on Consulting & Strategy. Ellis had one expenditure for $3,000 and McLaughlin had no expenditures.
Applyrs’ Consulting & Strategy – Significant Expenditures
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dove Street Group | 17 | $57,288.79 | Campaign Consultant |
| Josh Daniel | 9 | $4,774.30 | Campaign Consultant |
| Nesta Littlejohn | 3 | $13,200.00 | Campaign Consultant |
| Progressive Elections* | 7 | $18,000.00 | Campaign Consultant |
| Pearl Street Strategic | 3 | $7,500.00 | Campaign Consultant |
*Progressive Elections also received 11 payments totaling $36,288.54, bringing the total thus far to $54,288.54.
Nearly half of the money spent on Consulting & Strategy was spent through Dove Street Group. Progressive Elections, which also has payments listed under Advertising & Media, received $18k, bringing its total to over $54k. Approximately 94% of Applyrs’ expenditures were made to individuals or companies within the city of Albany.
Cerutti’s Consulting & Strategy – Significant Expenditures
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hart Research | 1 | $30,000.00 | Polling Costs |
| Social Radiant | 4 | $14,000.00 | Campaign Consultant |
| Harmony Campaign Consulting | 3 | $3,000.00 | Campaign Consultant |
Nearly 60% of Cerutti’s Consulting & Strategy expenditure was allocated to Hart Research, which has a mailing address in Washington, DC. Compared to Applyrs, who spent most of their Consulting & Strategy on companies and individuals with mailing addresses in Albany, NY only 16% of Cerutti’s expenses in this group have Albany mailing addresses.
Operations & Overhead Expenditures
Cerutti’s Operations & Overhead – Significant Expenditures
We are starting the Operations & Overhead section discussing the expenses of the Cerutti campaign because they spent over $133k, which was almost double any other campaign. Some of the noteworthy Cerutti expenses were:
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| KMV Digital | 3 | $13,500.00 | Professional Services |
| Propellant Media | 6 | $12,500.00 | Professional Services |
| Sailshaker* | 3 | $19,500.00 | Professional Services |
| Social Radiant** | 8 | $31,250.00 | Professional Services |
| Visual Planet | 3 | $17,727.50 | Professional Services |
*Sailshaker also received 1 payment of $5,912.50, bringing the total thus far to $25,412.50
**Social Radiant also received 4 payments totaling $14,000.00, bringing the total thus far to $45,250.00.
All together, the Cerutti campaign spent approximately $32k of the $133k on businesses or individuals in the city of Albany.
Applyrs’ Operations & Overhead – Significant Expenditures
The Applyrs campaign had the second highest total expenses for Operations & Overhead, some of which included:
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Axial Media and Communications | 1 | $7,500.00 | Professional Services |
| Greenberg Trauig* | 2 | $7,039.50 | Professional Services |
| Josh Daniel** | 5 | $3,865.85 | Professional Services |
| Nesta Littlejohn*** | 5 | $9,153.07 | Professional Services
Reimbursement |
| Progressive Elections**** | 6 | $9,069.79 | Petition Expenses
Reimbursement Professional Services |
| U.S. Post Master | 9 | $21,359.07 | Postage |
| U.S. Postal Service | 2 | $3,685.20 | Postage |
*The mailing address lists the city as Albany but the firm has locations around the world.
**Josh Daniel also received 9 payments totaling $4,774.30, bringing the total thus far to $8,640.15.
***Nesta Littlejohn also received 3 payments of $13,200.00, bringing the total thus far to $22,353.07. Note that only 2 of the 5 records for Operations & Overhead are for Professional Services, the other 3 are Reimbursements.
****Progressive Elections also received 18 payments totaling $54,288.54, bringing the total thus far to $63,358.33. Note that 1 record for Operations & Overhead was for Reimbursement.
Ellis’ Operations & Overhead – Significant Expenditures
The Ellis campaign had Operations & Overhead expenses of $46k. Of this, almost $34k, or 73%, of the expenses went to companies or individuals with mailing addresses outside the city of Albany. A few of the larger expenses are provided below:
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pritchard Marketing and Communications | 6 | $17,656.25 | Professional Services |
| Spectrum Reach | 1 | $5,004.80 | Professional Services |
| Times Union Media Group | 1 | $5,000.00 | Professional Services |
McLaughlin’s Operations & Overhead – Significant Expenditures
As stated previously, a significant portion of the McLaughlin campaign’s expenditures were on Operations & Overhead. A few of the larger expenses are provided below:
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Majestic Media Group* | 1 | $7,475.00 | Professional Services |
| WIX.com | 20 | $1,188.83 | Professional Services |
| Sole Strategies | 4 | $23,371.00 | Professional Services |
| Get Local518 | 3 | $3,713.50 | Professional Services |
*Majestic Media Group also received 2 payments of $18,703.00, bringing the total thus far to $26,178.00.
Fundraising & Donations
Applyrs’ Fundraising & Donations – Significant Expenditures
The Applyrs campaign had the highest expenditures here, spending nearly $30k, which was more than the other three candidates combined. A few of the larger expenses are provided below:
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Act Blue | 18 | $1,995.18 | Fundraising
Political Contributions |
| Albany County Young Democrats | 2 | $500.00 | Political Contributions |
| Rowan Strategies* | 2 | $7,000.00 | Fundraising |
*Filed as “ROWAN STATEGIES”. It’s unclear if this is a typo for Rowen Strategies, which lists Brooklyn on their website. Brooklyn was the mailing address provided in the record.
Other notable expenses for Political Contributions, the amounts, and offices:
| Individual or Organization | Amount | Office / Race |
|---|---|---|
| Committee to Elect Jillian Faison | $75.00 | Albany County Family Court Judge |
| Committee to Elect Joanne Cunningham | $75.00 | Albany County Legislature
(34th District) |
| Friends Of Deborah Zamer | $50.00 | Albany Common Council
(14th Ward) |
| Friends of Judge Marisa Franchini | $50.00 | Albany City Court Judge |
| Friends of Meghan Keegan | $100.00 | Albany Common Council
(9th Ward) |
| Friends of Ricja Rice | $75.00 | Albany County Family Court Judge |
| Kindlon For DA | $100.00 | Albany County District Attorney |
| Paul Tonko For Congress | $75.00 | U.S. Representative
(NY 20th Congressional District) |
| Stephanie N. Morales For Common. Atty. | $150.00 | City of Portsmouth
Commonwealth’s Attorney |
Note that we did not denote expenditures within Albany and external to Albany because some elected offices have constituents that reside both within and external to the city of Albany.
Cerutti’s Fundraising & Donations – Significant Expenditures
The Cerutti campaign had the next highest Fundraising & Donations expenses, with over $11k. Of that, over 99% were expensed to companies or individuals in the city of Albany, and the 1 entry that had a mailing address outside Albany was located in Slingerlands. A few of the larger expenses include:
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rudy’s V&R | 2 | $5,200.00 | Fundraising |
| Martel's Restaurant at Capital Hills | 1 | $1,408.00 | Fundraising |
| Christian Brothers Academy of Albany | 1 | $1,000.00 | Non-Political Donations |
Other notable expenses for Political Contributions, the amounts, and offices:
| Individual or Organization | Amount | Office / Race |
|---|---|---|
| Committee to Elect Jeffery V Jamison | $100.00 | Albany County Family Court Judge |
| Czajka for Family Court | $100.00 | Albany County Legislature
(34th District) |
| Friends of Jasper Mills | $99.00 | Albany County Family Court Judge |
| NYSABPRHAL | $100.00 |
Ellis’ Fundraising & Donations – Significant Expenditures
The third highest Fundraising & Donations expense was by the Ellis campaign. The only expense that did not have an Albany mailing address was the Cultural Center, which accounted for 20% of all expenses. A few of the larger expenses include:
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Albany Black Chamber of Commerce & Social Club | 1 | $600.00 | Fundraising |
| Albany County Democratic Party | 1 | $500.00 | Fundraising |
| Cultural Center | 1 | $1,350.00 | Non-Political Donations |
| NYSABPRHAL | 2 | $1,715.00 | Non-Political Donations |
There was only one expense for Political Contributions:
| Individual or Organization | Amount | Office / Race |
|---|---|---|
| Friends of Derek Johnson | $1,000.00 | Albany Common Council
(2nd Ward) |
McLaughlin’s Fundraising & Donations – Significant Expenditures
Finally, we explored the McLaughlin campaign, which had Fundraising & Donations expenses of just under $3k. A few of the larger expenses include:
| Company or Individual | Number of Records | Total Expenditures | Expense Code |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tahini Restaurant | 1 | $934.08 | Fundraising |
| Woman's Club Of Albany | 3 | $500.00 | Fundraising |
There was only one expenses for Political Contributions:
| Individual or Organization | Amount | Office / Race |
| Alvin Gamble | $100.00 | New York State Senate
(43rd District) |
Summary
We wanted to examine the expenditures of each democratic mayoral candidate leading up to the 2025 primary. Our goal was not to relive the campaign, rather our goal was to shine light on how Mayoral candidates raise money and spend money. To do this we performed a high level analysis of the expenses, and to a lesser extent attempted to relate our analysis to the election results. Regarding the latter, we noted that Applyrs, who won with over 50% of the votes, had higher expenditures in Consulting & Strategy and Fundraising & Donations relative to the other candidates. These results may indicate where to allocate resources if someone was interested in running for citywide elected position.
In addition, just over 50% of the Applyrs campaign expenditures were made to companies or individuals within the city of Albany. This was significantly higher than the Cerutti campaign (36%), which had a similar total amount of expenditures. Both the Ellis and McLaughlin campaigns had approximately 43% of their expenses to companies or individuals within the city of Albany; however, both of those campaigns had significantly less expenditures compared to both the Cerutti and Applyrs campaigns. While it is harder to draw conclusions that expenses to companies and individuals residing in Albany had a direct impact on the election, voters may want to be aware of where candidates spend their campaign’s funds.
However, despite our attempts at comparing election results with campaign expenses, the allocation of resources and funds does not speak to any of the candidate’s positions. Ultimately the voters made their decision based on the vision each of the candidates had for Albany, and a majority of the voters felt that Applyrs had the best vision moving forward.
Conclusions
We were able to retrieve and analyze public data associated with the Albany’s democratic mayoral candidates that sought the nomination for 2025.
Process
Charts and analysis were performed in Python. Process and code available on request.
Credits
This data story and its content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
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- © Copyright 2025
- Tyche Insights, P.B.C.
- AdamTyche (AdamD)
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