Anthony Weiner. (Photo: Getty)

Many had expected Anthony Weiner's quarterly campaign finance filing to reveal additional information about his efforts to ramp up a highly-anticipated mayoral bid, but the former congressman's report ended up showing very few additional details.

Unlike his previous filing in March, where Mr. Weiner paid more than $100,000 for polling and research, all of his latest expenditures are humdrum affairs. He spent $37.94 to help embed his policy ideas book online, for example, and $5,000 to Jessica Provenz, a New Jersey playwright, to help him write it. Other than that, Mr. Weiner has been maintaining his campaign office, phone line and a website. No new staff hires, outside of the already-known Ms. Provenz, appear to have been made. The total spent: Just over $12,400.

Additionally, no campaign contributions were collected in this period, leaving another possible sign of his intentions silent.

It should be noted that the new filing states that Mr. Weiner spent $75,131--but, in fact, most of that money was spent back in 2010. The spending was reported as part of the current filing at the request of the city's Campaign Finance Board, which had requested the missing documents as part of its pre-election audit process, a spokesman said.

Update (12:11 p.m.):

Mr. Weiner declined to comment on the spending or the status of his campaign, saying he didn't "have anything to add" other than a technical explanation of why the 2010 items had been included in the filing.

Additional reporting by Jill Colvin.

Joe Lhota. (Photo: Getty)

The foundations of any successful high-profile campaign usually include strong fund-raising operations, and the race to replace term-limited Mayor Michael Bloomberg is no exception. As tomorrow's deadline approaches for candidates to release their quarterly fund-raising totals, most of the campaigns are claiming success.

Former MTA chair Joe Lhota for example, raised a healthy $558,000 for his bid.

"We're still doing some last minute tallying so this might fluctuate slightly," Lhota spokeswoman Jessica Proud told Politicker in an email. "We're very pleased with our fundraising. We set out specific objectives for this filing period and are happy to report that we exceeded our goal to double our donor base."

Mr. Lhota's main opponent, billionaire businessman John Catsimatidis, has yet to announce if he's raised anything at all this quarter--not that he'll need to--but on the Democratic side of the aisle, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio's campaign triumphantly declared that they've raised the maximum threshold for the primary.

"This period, New Yorkers for de Blasio raised $240,000, including more than $75,000 in matchable contributions," his campaign manager, Bill Hyers, said in a statement. "With expected matching funds, the campaign has raised more than the maximum allowable expenditure for the Democratic primary. We intend to build on this momentum as we raise resources for the Runoff and general election."

Council Speaker Christine Quinn, the race's front-runner who maxed out for the primary a long time ago, added a further $510,000 to her campaign chest while spending $230,000, her campaign said. Former Comptroller Bill Thompson announced earlier today that his own fund-raising had picked up, pulling in over $600,000 over the latest period.

Not everyone was pleased with their quarterly filings, however. Former Bronx Borough President Adolfo Carrión, who's running on the Independence Party's line, raised less than $20,000. His campaign complained that too many donors operated within the two-party structure.

Update (5:40 p.m.): City Comptroller John Liu, another Democratic candidate, reports that he raised just over $104,000 over the latest period, which ended days after his campaign treasurer and a donor were convicted for setting up a straw donor scheme. He also spent more than $225,o00 over that period, leaving him with just $1,912,517 cash on-hand, the campaign said.

Nonetheless,  Mr. Liu's campaign has now maxed out for the primary--assuming the city's Campaign Finance Board lets him keep his publicly-matched funds. He's also now eligible for the public maximum, with $605,500 in total matchable contributions, they said.

"We have all of our documentation in place supporting our matching funds claims and are confident that we are fully-qualified to receive the maximum amount of public matching funds, allowed under the law, of $3,534,300," Mr. Liu's lawyer,  Martin Connor, said in a statement.

Update (12:22 p.m. Wednesday): Former City Councilman Sal Albanese's campaign reported Wednesday that he raised just over $40,500 during the latest period--slightly more than than the last quarter, but still not enough to make him a top-tier candidate. He now has $105,155 cash on-hand, they said.

"Unlike his opponents, Sal refuses contributions from developers, registered lobbyists, and people doing business with the city," his campaign spokesman said in a statement. He added that over the past month, Mr. Albanese has made significant investments in the campaign, hiring a field director, volunteer coordinator, fund-raiser and a community liaison.

Additional reporting by Jill Colvin.

Melinda Katz. (photo: melindakatz.com)

Former Councilwoman Melinda Katz raised $80,000 during the most recent filing period, placing her total at $489,313 raised thus far, her campaign for Queens borough president announced this morning.

"We're in great shape going into our final push to hit the max by the July filing," a campaign source wrote to Politicker in an email. "With over $900,000 in raised and matching funds, we're just $166,000 away from reaching the cap. And less than 40% of that needs to be matchable, so we've got a ton of house parties and small events lined up in May and June."

Ms. Katz was among the first candidates Queens borough president to release her fund-raising total, but she certainly won't be the last. State Senator Tony Avella reported raising just over $16,000, according to campaign finance board records, bringing his total war chest to $53,400.

Councilman Peter Vallone, who already raised $1 million according to the previous filing, doesn't have much more money work to do, but Councilman Leroy Comrie, who had raised about $100,000, still needs to overcome perceptions that his campaign is lagging. State Senator José Peralta, meanwhile, spent some money on legal bills in past months and his filing will face its own form of scrutiny after court papers revealed that he had been secretly recorded by ex-State Senator Shirley Huntley and might be part of an investigation--a charge his lawyer denied. Also in contention on the Democratic side is former Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik.

“This campaign has always been powered by a diverse coalition of grassroots donors across our city,” said Ms. Katz in a statement. “And that’s why our campaign, backed by an overwhelming level of support from New Yorkers, will have the resources we need to keep building momentum and win on Election Day.”

The rest of the candidates will have until tomorrow to announce their numbers.

Bill Thomspon. (Photo: Facebook/Bill Thompson)

Bill Thompson raised more than $600,000 over the past two months for his mayoral bid--a haul his campaign touted as a "dramatic" uptick in their fund-raising pace.

The money, raised from March 12 through May 11, is nearly double what Mr. Thompson raised during the previous period--a sign, staffers said, that his campaign is gaining steam.

“I think this campaign is starting to kick into high gear," Mr. Thompson’s chief strategist, Jonathan Prince, told reporters during a conference call announcing the results.

"We have moved on a lot of fronts to improve the way we were doing business, quite frankly," he said, pointing to a slew of recently announced endorsements and greater visibility in recent weeks.

Mr. Thompson has been criticized in the past for failing to energize voters and running a lackluster campaign.

Mr. Prince said the campaign spent roughly $300,000 during the recent period, leaving them with upwards of $2.3 million cash-on-hand.

The campaign also reported that more than half of the contributions were small donations of $250 or less; and about $50,000 will be eligible to be matched by the city's generous public matching funds program.

Mr. Prince argued the campaign's relatively modest spending early out of gate will give it an advantage in the long run, as the major campaigns, which are all expected to raise the maximum among, struggle to keep their spending under the required cap. The campaign, he said, already has  a $400,000 spending advantage over City Council Speaker and front-runner Christine Quinn and an almost half-million dollar advantage over Public Advocate Bill de Blasio.

“The campaign is kicking into high-gear at the appropriate time," he said.

Campaigns have until Wednesday to file their latest fund-raising and spending reports with the city's campaign finance board.

State Senator José Peralta. (Photo: Facebook)

State Sen. and Queens borough president candidate José Peralta, who was among the seven lawmakers secretly recorded by ex-Sen. Shirley Huntley, has been racking up legal bills, spending tens of thousands of campaign dollars on lawyers’ fees.

Since December, 2011, Mr. Peralta’s senate re-election and 2013 borough president campaigns have spent a combined $53,500.00 in fees to Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, one of the city’s top election law firms, city and state finance records show. That includes $22,500 in payments from Mr. Peralta’s campaign for borough president--about a quarter of the total $88,873 the campaign has spent so far, the filings show.

Mr. Peralta's campaign spokesman and the firm did not return numerous calls and emails for comments Thursday. Buy observers were left dumbfounded by the fees.

“I’m just astounded by that,” said one insider when presented with the numbers. “Three’s no political explanation that makes sense at first glance. That doesn’t mean there isn’t ... but the guy hasn’t had a competitive election in years.”

A campaign for borough president typically spends no more than a couple thousand dollars on legal fees for help navigating campaign finance regulations.

When his campaign was asked by Politicker about the numbers last March, a spokesman said the spending had nothing to do with any investigation.

An attorney at the firm who specializes in criminal defense work, Joel Cohen, also reportedly refused to say whether he was representing Mr. Peralta in any sort of criminal investigation. "I don't talk about who my clients are," he told Crain's New York Business earlier today.

Mr. Peralta was outed in court Wednesday as one of nine elected officials and aids secretly recorded by Ms. Huntley, as she tried to minimize her own sentence for funneling state money through a sham non-profit to fund shopping sprees. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, “eight of these nine individuals remain the subjects of ongoing criminal investigations”—although they repeatedly refused to say who.

City Councilman Ruben Wills said that federal law enforcement authorities told his lawyer that he is the lone outsider.

Mr. Peralta seemed to acknowledge Wednesday that he had been involved in some sort of investigation, but maintained his innocence.

“I am confident that the authorities will find, if they have not already done so, that I have engaged in no wrongdoing whatsoever,” he said in a statement. The three other senators who released comments yesterday all specifically said they had not been contacted by investigators..

Mr. Peralta is facing a crowded race to replace term-limited borough President Helen Marshall, including  City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. and Leroy Comrie, former Councilwoman Melinda Katz, Sen. Tony Avella and former Assemblyman Barry Grodenchik.

Update (4:34 p.m.): Jerry Goldfeder, an attorney at the firm, said in a statement that he has indeed been representing Mr. Peralta, but that the senator is not a target of the investigation.

"I have been representing Senator Jose Peralta for the last few years only on standard election and campaign finance matters. When his name was released by the court yesterday, I introduced the Senator to my colleague Joel Cohen. Today Mr. Cohen and I met with the Assistant US attorneys, who assured us that Senator Peralta is not a target in their inquiry," he said.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office has refused to comment on the case.

Update (6:01 p.m.): Mr. Peralta's campaign spokesman Frank Sobrino also issued another statement on the senator's behalf:

“I have been assured by the U.S. Attorney’s office that I am not a target of their inquiry," he said. “The corruption charges filed over the past several weeks against members of the state legislature and City Council have shaken confidence in the political system.

“The way to restore the public’s faith in government is through the honorable, dedicated and committed service it deserves and should expect of its elected representatives.”

Additional reporting by Colin Campbell.

Charlie Rangel (Photo: Getty)

Octogenarian Congressman Charlie Rangel staved off a vigorous primary challenge from State Sen. Adriano Espaillat last year, but he has yet to gear up his operations for what could be another tough re-election fight. According to his latest filings, Mr. Rangel spent more than he raised and has negative $4,800 cash on hand and $36,000 in debts and obligations.

Furthermore, Mr. Rangel only received a handful of individual contributions, oddly all from Puerto Rico-based donors, which, along with some political committee cash, amounted to just $34,000. Meanwhile, Mr. Rangel spent about $44,000, including $28,000, to his attorney Jay Goldberg.

Politicker reached out to Mr. Rangel's office to ask if this might be taken as a sign that Mr. Rangel is contemplating retirement. Hannah Kim, Mr. Rangel's spokeswoman, said Mr. Rangel was simply focused on his official duties.

"The Congressman has been just reelected and the 113th Congress started only four months ago. He has been extremely busy holding numerous events in the newly-drawn district," Ms. Kim said in a statement. "He is also focused on working to reform the tax code as well as helping to enact sensible legislation on immigration, guns and a balanced budget that will create jobs, strengthen the economy, and ensure that we keep moving our country in the right direction."

Mr. Espaillat, who has not signaled his own electoral intentions, raised only $2,000 during the same period. However, he reported having a little more than $67,000 cash on hand. Additionally, former Assemblyman Adam Clayton Powell IV, who has said he would run if Mr. Rangel doesn't seek re-election, raised about $45,000.

(Photo: Facebook)

Comptroller John Liu is the only one of the major Democratic mayoral contender whose campaign hasn't officially released his fundraising numbers from the latest filing period to the press. However, Mr. Liu's numbers are actually worth boasting about. Though the raw amount he's raised doesn't compare to his rivals, when you factor in publicly-matched contributions, Mr. Liu appears to be sitting on the second-highest pile of campaign cash behind only Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who has already raised the maximum amount allowed for the primary

"We're just about there in maxing out at the spending limit," a spokesperson for Mr. Liu said after Politicker reached out. "In fact, we've emphasized small amounts and from a broad base of NYC donors, the vast majority of whom are first-time donors to any campaign."

Under city campaign finance regulations, donations $175  or less are matched 6-to-1 by the New York City Campaign Finance Board. To date, Mr. Liu has raised $568,500 in funds he's claiming will be matched at the 6-1 rate. Combined with the $3,230,000 in private funds he's raised so far, that gives him about $6,640,000 in his expected war chest---roughly $88,000 short of the spending cap. Given the rate that Mr. Liu has accumulated 6-to-1 matched donations so far, he will easily close that remaining gap.

In contrast, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio--another major Democratic mayoral candidate--claims to have about $5.9 million in matched and un-matched funds, less than Mr. Liu but enough to place him on the path to hitting the maximum in time for the September primary. It's not immediately clear where the fourth top Democrat, former Comptroller Bill Thompson, stands, but he is touting $2.8 million in un-matched funds with the latest filing.

(Photo: Facebook)

Assemblyman Micah Kellner has maxed out.

In 53 days, Mr. Kellner, a candidate for Upper East Side Councilwoman Jessica Lappin's seat this year, has raised over $123,000 from over 440 donors, his campaign announced this morning. The total makes Mr. Kellner one of the strongest fundraisers in the city and effectively means he can't raise any more money for the decisive Democratic primary while accepting public matching funds.

"Over 225 in-district contributions, three times the 75 required to receive matching funds. Kellner’s disclosure highlighted strong community support across the district," his campaign noted. "Nearly $40,000 in matchable donations, almost eight times the $5,000 threshold needed to receive matching claims. Widespread support from grassroots donors and activists. 320 contributions were for $175 or less, the maximum contribution amount to receive a 6 to 1 match."

Mr. Kellner's main opponent, attorney Ben Kallos, raised about $43,000 last year but has yet to file his latest report since then. Attorney Ed Hartzog also has yet to provide his new numbers--due later today--but previously posted approximately $8,000. And college professor Hill Krishnan, a disco-dancing former Bollywood "bad guy," brings up the rear with $3,000.

Ms. Lappin is vacating her seat to run for Manhattan Borough President.

(Photo: Igor2013.com)

Igor Oberman, who only started campaigning for Councilman Mike Nelson's seat 3 weeks ago, has already raised more than $85,000 according to his campaign. The sum--likely to be among the largest earned by any of the city's Council candidates this filing period--instantly puts down a strong marker in a heated race in southern Brooklyn. His team also said Mr. Oberman, an attorney and president of the board of directors in a large housing complex in the district, amassed the sum through over 200 donors, 70 percent of whom came from within the district.

"This is a game-changer," spokesman Jonathan Yedin told Politicker. "Igor's massive fundraising haul proves his message is resonating and voters are getting behind his campaign in a big way."

Most of Mr. Oberman's top rivals have yet to get their fundraising efforts off the ground. Chaim Deutsch, a staffer in Mr. Nelson's office, still has to form a campaign committee, while Ari Kagan, a local district leader who's running with the support of the county's Democratic establishment, has a committee with just a couple donations so far.

However, attorney Michael Treybich and community board chairwoman Theresa Scavo are in a better position. Mr. Treybich raised more than $20,000 in his previous filing, but has yet to post his most recent numbers. Ms. Scavo has almost $35,000 stockpiled from an aborted 2009 campaign. Another attorney, Natraj Bhushan, has raised $1,500 to date.

Update (6:56 p.m.):  Added in official comment from the Oberman campaign.

(Photo: Facebook)

Although he won't beat the record of the man he's vying to replace, at 24 years old, Ritchie Torres would be one of the youngest members of City Council ever if he's elected later this year. And so far at least, it seems he's positioning himself well to do exactly that, raising $60,0000 in his latest filing and simultaneously announcing the endorsement of the Hotel Trades Council, a relatively small union known for punching above its weight.

“I am so appreciative for this critical endorsement. The Hotel Trades Council has one of the premier get out the vote operations in the state and I’m excited to have them on my team,” Mr. Torres, a staffer for neighboring Councilman Jimmy Vacca, said in a statement. “HTCs endorsement is transformative for the race, and I look forward to working with them as the next Council Member from the 15th district.

Mr. Torres also recently collected the endorsements of 32BJ SEIU and UFCW, who represent property services and grocery store workers respectively. According to his campaign, "No other candidate in the race for the 15th district has yet to secure any support from organized labor."

He nevertheless faces a crowded field of rivals that includes attorney Raquel Batista, state committeewoman Yudelka Tapia and, notably, "Fake Joel Rivera," a candidate with a name identical to the veteran Bronx councilman whose seat is up for contention.

For his part, Councilman Rivera was just 22 years old when he was first elected.