ANSONIA – The campaigns of Frank Tyszka and the Democratic slate hold a fundraising lead over incumbent Mayor David Cassetti and the Republican slate.

Tyszka is trying to unseat Cassetti, a six-term mayor first elected in 2013. The last campaign disclosures were due this week and cover the month of October. They are the last filings before Tuesday’s election.

“Frank For Ansonia” had raised $24,142.72 as of Oct. 26, including $13,377.47 raised since Oct. 1.

Tyszka’s campaign had $924.84 on hand as of Oct. 26..

The Ansonia Republican Town Committee, which is managing the campaigns of both Cassetti and the Republican down-ballot candidates, had raised $16,175.55 as of Oct. 26, including $4,575.55 raised in October. 

The Republican Town Committee reported a negative cash balance of -$1,020.44, and it reported owing another $8,918.19 in currently unpaid expenses.

The Ansonia Democratic Town Committee, which runs the Democratic down-ballot campaigns, had raised $11,102.10 total, with $5,700 raised in October. 

The Democratic Town Committee also reported having a negative cash balance of -$2,947.72.

The information comes from campaign finance disclosures that were due by Oct. 28. State law allows the public to see who’s funding political campaigns. This is the final round of disclosures due before Election Day (Tuesday, Nov. 4).

Donors And Expenses

In October, Tyszka’s campaign received $1,500 from the CT Laborers’ Political Action Committee, as well as $1,500 from District 1199 SEIU and $750 from the Connecticut American Federation of Teachers. 

Tyszka’s campaign also received 41 donations from individuals in October. The largest individual donors this period were Tyszka himself, who gave the campaign $550, Clifford Hoyle, who gave $450, and John Androski, who gave $350.

Tyszka’s campaign’s largest expenses in October included $11,448.22 to Blue Edge Strategies for Facebook ads, texts, and lawn signs, $10,943.67 to Valley Publishing for campaign mailers, and $500 to Mary Androski for headquarters rent.

The Republican Town Committee received eight donations from individuals in October.

The largest individual donor this period was John Decker, a managing partner at Interstate Waste Services who paid $2,000. 

Cassetti gave the GOP committee $1,600.12. Former economic development director Sheila O’Malley donated $647.94, and city corporation counsel John Marini donated $627.49.

The Republican Town Committee’s largest expenses in October included $4,103.66 to Postmaster for fliers and postage, $4,607.96 to Arrow Printers, and $1,600.12 to Peerly for text messages.

Expenses incurred but not yet paid included $5,346.57 to Arrow Printers, and $2,028 in legal fees to Cohen and Wolf, a law firm which represented the committee earlier this year in a since-resolved lawsuit against Democratic City/Town Clerk Beth Lynch.

Petitioning candidate Thomas Egan, who is funding his own campaign, also submitted a campaign finance filing Oct. 28, but the numbers were mostly illegible due to an apparent printing issue. Egan told The Valley Indy in an email he did not spend any new money on his campaign in October.

In a previous filing, Egan had reported spending $2,990.26 on his campaign as of Sept. 30.