Nina Ahmad triggers ‘millionaire’s amendment’ for campaign fund-raising in 11th hour of City Council at-large race

Philadelphia City Council at-large candidate Nina Ahmad has triggered the so-called “millionaire’s amendment” with less than two weeks left before the Democratic primary. The provision doubles the fundraising limits for every at-large candidate effective immediately, an 11th-hour move that has drawn ire from some rivals in the highly competitive race.

Ahmad wrote a $150,000 check to her own campaign this week, which put her above the $250,000 self-financing threshold to trigger the amendment, the Board of Ethics announced Thursday.

With the amendment in play, candidates for City Council at-large can now accept contributions up to $6,200 from individuals and $25,200 from political action committees for as long as Ahmad remains in the race. Candidates are required to alert the Board of Ethics within two days of triggering the provision.

This is not the first time that Ahmad — a scientist, women’s rights advocate, real estate developer, and former Philadelphia deputy mayor — has self-financed a run for office. She spent over $1 million on two unsuccessful bids for statewide office for lieutenant governor in 2018 and auditor general in 2020.

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While her campaign has gathered endorsements from labor unions, advocacy groups, and elected officials, Ahmad said she feels she is still an outsider in the race, and has turned to self-financing after struggling to raise money from Democratic donors.

“Outsiders, particularly women of color have a harder time raising resources and that’s what holds a lot of us back,” she said in a statement. “I’m not willing to let that happen and so I’m betting on myself that my story and commitment to making Philadelphia healthier and safer will resonate with voters.”

Some of Ahmad’s rivals accused her of trying to undermine political contribution limits that are meant to create an equal playing field between wealthy and working-class candidates.

“We think grassroots fundraising is the way to win and the wealthy should not be able to buy their way into office,” said Vanessa Clifford, the party’s regional political director.

The progressive Working Families Party has two candidates running in the general election, and has endorsed a slate of Democrats for at-large seats, some of whom view Ahmad as a close competitor. (The WFP’s national political arm reported spending over $200,000 on canvassing operations to support its candidates.)

Ahmad’s campaign has now raised more than $350,000 — one of the largest war chests in the 27-way race for the five Democratic at-large seats. Her personal contributions account for more than two-thirds of that haul, according to campaign finance reports.

An immigrant from Bangladesh who has built an expansive career, Ahmad and her husband, developer Ahsan Nasratullah, have found success in real estate through their firm JNA Capital, Inc.. The financing firm sources debt and equity for both nonprofit and commercial developments, with the Crane Chinatown apartment tower being one of the firm’s most prominent projects.

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The fundraising amendment was triggered four months ago in the crowded mayoral race. Former Councilmember and real estate magnate Allan Domb and grocer Jeff Brown have already sunk millions into their campaigns for the city’s top job. The vast sums pouring into that race — more than $22 million as of early April — have led two candidates to drop out, citing fundraising struggles.

It remains unclear what impact the amendment could have on the lower-profile City Council race, where most front-runners typically only raise a few hundred thousand dollars to remain competitive. But by waiting until two weeks before the May 16 election to trigger the amendment, Ahmad left her rivals with only a small window to seek out more money from donors who had contributed the maximum amount to their campaigns.

The doubled limits do not apply to district Council races, where there are only a handful of competitive matchups.