By Elaine Allegrini
ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER
Posted Oct 30, 2009 @ 12:18 AM
Last update Oct 30, 2009 @ 11:57 AM
BROCKTON —
Incumbent Mayor James E. Harrington,
campaigning for a third term, has outspent
his opponent since coming in second to
Councilor-at-large Linda Balzotti in the
preliminary election, but Balzotti said she
has worked harder in the weeks leading up to
Tuesday’s election.
“We knew he would probably raise more
money,” Balzotti said Tuesday. “But one
thing we knew, we couldn’t be outworked. It
doesn’t cost money going door to door.”
In campaign finance reports dated Oct.
16 and filed with the elections office by
Tuesday’s deadline, Harrington received
$34,700 since the Sept. 15 preliminary and
spent $35,200. That still left him with
$26,200 to spend because he already had a
significant war chest reported in an earlier
campaign filing.
HARRINGTON'S REPORT
BALZOTTI'S REPORT
Balzotti received $10,500 since the
preliminary election and spent $10,900,
according to her report. She has outstanding
bills of $4,750. And, she said she is still
getting donations to add to the $7,842 that
is available — a figure that also includes
money reported earlier.
Known as a good fundraiser, Harrington
kept true to his reputation. “What it shows
is that people didn’t write me off,” he
said.
With the money comes support that
Harrington says shows he has a legitimate
shot of winning on Tuesday. He has spent a
considerable amount of money on mailings and
said he will continue that strategy to the
end.
“It’s the most effective way to get to
people,” he said, but didn’t discount other
means of advertising. \He said he has plans
for other media advertising and phone calls.
Balzotti said the money in her account
pays all her campaign bills, as budgeted.
“We mapped out a plan from the very
beginning,” she said. “We knew what we
needed to raise, how much we needed to
execute a plan. We’ve raised enough to
execute the plan and pay for advertising. We
haven’t had to eliminate anything.”