Lombardi drains campaign account early

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The political war chest for Providence Mayoral candidate John Lombardi has shrunk considerably since his last filing, according to a recent campaign finance report. With just over $19,000 of cash on hand, the Democratic candidate blew through more than $100,000 of campaign money since April.

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The Lombardi campaign raised a little more than $40,000 in the same period according to the report filed on Thursday.

The filing shows the Lombardi spent much of his money on what he called "alternative media."

"We got out there early on Facebook and others," Lombardi said. "We had to do that to be competitive."

In fact, Lombardi spent $20,000 in the last quarter on Mediapeel, a digital marketing firm owned by Anthony Gemma, a candidate for First Congressional District.

Beside online, Lombardi's face has been plastered on the side of Rhode Island Public Transit Authority buses. Yet, despite so little money in his war chest, Lombardi said he knows it will take more traditional — and costly — media buys like TV and radio to make a dent.

"We're not concerned [about the money]," Lombardi said. "We have some great commitments. We'll be doing what we have to do to be competitive."

He said it hasn't been challenging to raise money, "we're going to door to door and street by street," and attributed the drained funds to the early media campaign.

The other Mayoral candidates have yet to file their quarterly reports which are due Aug. 2. But according to their most recent filings, his Democratic rivals were reporting deeper wallets.

Former Housing Court Judge Angel Taveras had more than $100,000 in his account as of April and State Representative Steven Costantino had nearly $400,000. Christopher Young's account shows a zero balance.

twhite@wpri.com