Bill Thompson’s failure to qualify for the first round of public matching funds did not go unnoticed by Mayor Bloomberg’s campaign, which yesterday questioned whether the comptroller is really a grass-roots kind of guy.
“In fact, just the opposite is true,” charged Howard Wolfson, the mayor’s campaign spokesman.
He said 86 percent of what Thompson got came from donors contributing $1,000 or more in the most recent cycle and 2 percent were donations of $250 or less.
Thompson is trying to position himself as a grass-roots-style contender in the style of President Obama’s 2008 campaign.
The comptroller’s campaign team said the mayor “is in no position to criticize our fund-raising efforts” since he is “poised to spend $200 million in an attempt to buy another term.”
The figure is double what most analysts expect Bloomberg to spend.
Thompson has raised $5.3 million, and has $3 million left in his chest.
To qualify for $1.5 million in matching funds, he had to round up at least $250,000 in contributions of $175 or less.
The Campaign Finance Board ruled on Thursday that he just missed that mark. He’ll likely qualify in a couple of weeks.