Anonymous ‘dark money’ donors are spending millions in the Philly mayor’s race to support Jeff Brown

A super PAC that has spent $2.8 million trying to get Jeff Brown elected mayor of Philadelphia has injected mystery into this year’s Democratic primary, with most of its funding coming from undisclosed “dark money” donors.

Brown, a grocery store operator and the only candidate who hasn’t held elected office, has so far been the greatest beneficiary of super PACs, outside spending groups that played a major role in the 2015 and 2019 mayoral races. A super PAC supporting Brown reported this week that it has raised more than $3 million.

And thanks to a loophole in campaign finance law, most of that money is coming from donors who can remain anonymous because their contributions were funneled to the super PAC through nonprofits.

Three nonprofits donated $2,975,000 to For A Better Philadelphia, the super PAC supporting Brown, last year — accounting for 96% of the PAC’s fundraising in 2022 and 2023. But the donors to those nonprofits will remain unknown.

More than $2.4 million of that money came from a nonprofit registered with the Pennsylvania Department of State last year with the same name as the super PAC. The rest came from two established super PACs based in Washington.

According to the city’s campaign finance law, nonprofits that fund super PACs trying to influence an election must file a report disclosing donors if the PAC spends $5,000 or more of that money within 50 days of the election.

But For A Better Philadelphia’s latest campaign finance report shows the nonprofit money was spent before that 50-day window opened. Dan Siegel, a spokesperson for the super PAC, said that spending was not intended to avoid disclosure of the nonprofit donors.

Instead, Siegel said, the early spending was meant to boost Brown’s name recognition. And polling shows that likely happened.

“Our goal was to uplift an outsider with a real vision for change who was running against nearly a dozen insiders and former elected officials who had all of the name recognition and political support that came with that,” Siegel said.

Brown is now considered a top contender in the crowded mayoral field, and more than half of the money spent to boost his candidacy has come from For A Better Philadelphia.

Super PACs can raise and spend well outside of the city’s campaign finance limits if they don’t coordinate with candidates or campaigns. They raised and spent more than the candidates for mayor in 2015 and 2019.

Of the four super PACs supporting mayoral candidates that submitted campaign finance reports due Tuesday, For a Better Philadelphia is easily in the lead for fundraising. There are also super PACs supporting three other candidates in the May 16 Democratic primary: Cherelle Parker, Helen Gym, and Rebecca Rhynhart.

For A Better Philadelphia has spent more than $1 million so far on television advertising in support of Brown, according to AdImpact, a firm that tracks advertising in campaigns.

Philadelphians For Our Future, a super PAC supporting former City Councilmember Cherelle Parker, ranked second in fundraising after raising $1,152,000 from November to March.

The bulk of the money raised by that super PAC came from unions, especially Parker’s allies in the Laborers District Council. Four political action committees linked to laborers gave the super PAC a combined $500,000 in March. Six other unions kicked in a combined $455,000 last month.

Parker was endorsed in February by the Philadelphia Construction and Building Trades Council, which is led by Ryan Boyer, who also heads the Laborers District Council. She was also endorsed in March by the Eastern Atlantic States Council of Carpenters.

And Local 98 of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, which has controlled the most influential super PAC in the last two races for mayor, endorsed Parker Wednesday. Local 98′s political action committee had nearly $13.8 million in the bank as of last week.

The Building Trades were critical in supporting Kenney’s campaign in 2015 and his reelection bid in 2019.

Philadelphians For Our Future has spent $450,000 on television advertising, according to AdImpact.

Fighting Together for Philadelphia, a super PAC backing former City Councilmember Helen Gym, raised $615,000 since Feb. 13, with nine out of every 10 dollars coming from two political action committees controlled by the American Federation of Teachers.

The Philadelphia Federation of Teachers endorsed Gym in January.

The pro-Gym super PAC also received $40,000 that took a circuitous route from the coffers of a now-defunct super PAC that supported Mayor Jim Kenney’s 2019 bid for a second term.

Forward Together Philadelphia raised more than $1.5 million in 2019, with $1 million from former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, $250,000 from the American Federation of Teachers, and $300,000 from a political action committee funded by trial lawyers.

Forward Together Philadelphia gave its last $44,664 in November 2021 to Citizens For Strength and Security, a federal super PAC based in Washington, which donated $40,000 on Feb. 13 to the pro-Gym super PAC.

Fighting Together for Philadelphia has spent nearly $571,000 on television so far.

Former City Controller Rebecca Rhynhart now has a super PAC, Philadelphia Leadership PAC, supporting her campaign.

That PAC received $100,000 in seed money on March 20 from Richard Vague, a Philadelphia tech venture capitalist who considered a run for president in 2019. Vague served as finance chair for Rhynhart’s 2021 campaign for a second term as controller, which was uncontested in the primary and general elections.

The super PAC is chaired by Michael Berman, who worked on Bloomberg’s 2020 presidential campaign with former Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. Berman and Nutter, along with another Bloomberg veteran, Kevin Kinross, launched a public affairs firm called 40 North Advocacy in 2021.

Nutter endorsed Rhynhart last month and appears in a television commercial for her campaign with former Mayor John Street.

Philadelphia Leadership PAC has not booked time for television commercials, according to AdImpact.

One proposed super PAC is still missing in action. State Rep. Amen Brown was feted during a December Pennsylvania Society party at a Manhattan cigar bar by the people expected to help fund a PAC backing him.

New York real estate developer Marty Burger, who was expected to help push that PAC, said “stay tuned” when asked about it last week.

“I can’t talk about it,” Burger said last week. “But you’ll see something happen.”

Burger did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment.