It’s a split decision after round one in the Democratic primary battle between Andrew Gounardes and Ross Barkan with the eventual winner facing off against Republican State Sen. Marty Golden in the general 22nd Senate District election.
That after, Barkan rounded up slightly more signatures to get on the ballot, but Gounardes hauled in a lot more cash, as the deadline to report both recently passed.
A thousand signatures were required to secure a position on the ballot. Barkan collected over 6,100 signatures to Gounardes’ more than 5,200 signatures.
“We are running to bring real progressive change to Brooklyn and shake up the status quo. People are tired of politics as usual,” Barkan said, “I ran for State Senate because I, like many of my neighbors, am sick and tired of the Trump Republican representing us. I am tired of a weak Democratic establishment that has failed to stand up to him, a machine that has not mobilized everyday people. Collecting over 6,100 signatures demonstrates we are building the movement on the ground to bring real and lasting change to our political system.”
Gounardes said he is proud of the effort his volunteers put into exceeding the requirements. He says the community he has built is going to bring massive momentum for his campaign.
“Last week, we submitted more than 5,200 signatures to qualify for the Democratic, Working Families, and Reform party lines. Nearly all of our petition signatures were collected by volunteers, more than 2/3 of whom live in our district,” Gounardes said, “I am honored and proud to have such amazing support from the community and I’m so energized for the campaign ahead.”
But on the campaign war chest side, Gounardes reported raising a whopping $121,141.56 since January and has $181,419, according to state campaign finance website, while Barkan has raised $71,440.76 during the current filing period, and after expenses and his opening balance, has $58,642.08 on hand.
“We’ve raised an impressive $238,000 so far in our campaign to unseat Marty Golden. In this filing alone, approximately 40% of our donors live in the district, showing an incredible breadth of community support, and 92% of our donations were less than $100,” Gounardes said.
Barkan pointed out he has not received any Schedule B donations, which are considered corporate donations. Gournardes has received 11 Schedule B donations totaling $3,275.
“It’s people versus money and people always win. We are building the movement to defeat Marty Golden,” Barkan said.
The Democratic Primary is Sept. 13. The general election is Nov. 6. The district includes Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights, Bensonhurst, Marine Park, Gerritsen Beach, Gravesend and parts of Sheepshead Bay, Borough Park and Midwood.
