Somerville Mayoral Race Among MA's Priciest In 2017

SOMERVILLE, MA – The Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance on Wednesday released its study of campaign finance activity by candidates for mayor in 2017. Voters in 35 cities across the Commonwealth headed to the polls to elect mayors in 2017. Of those races, 23 were contested and 18 included incumbents running for re-election.

A total of 58 candidates were on the ballot in November, raising a total of $5,959,743 and spending over $6 million, according to reports filed with the OCPF. The median amount of fundraising last year was $37,439 and the median spending figure was $30,988.

The top spender in 23 contested elections won 20 times; in Attleboro, Framingham and Leominster, candidates who outspent their opponents lost.

Somerville, which saw Mayor Joseph Curtatone face a challenger in Payton Corbett, was third in highest total expenditures by mayoral race last year, the OCPF's report stated. Below are the top 10 races with the highest expenditures (third figure is population):

1) Boston: $2,542,483; 673,184
2) Newton: $660,660; 89,045
3) Somerville: $326,791; 79,507
4) Fall River: $318,550; 88,902
5) Lawrence: $259,447; 79,337
6) Framingham: $235,237; 70,743
7) Lynn: $219,873; 92,074
8) Salem: $203,992; 42,804
9) Brockton: $134,485; 94,813
10) Holyoke: $130,437; 40,280

Mayor Curtatone was sixth in campaign fundraising and fourth in expenditures by candidate, behind Marty Walsh and Tito Jackson in Boston and Ruthanne Fuller in Newton. Curtatone was among the top candidates with the highest starting balances in 2017 with $112,241.

His challenger, Corbett, raised over $17,000 and spent nearly $13,000.

Click here for the OCPF's full 2017 report.

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