Get the latest Syracuse news delivered right to your inbox.
Subscribe to our newsletter here.

Along with being the frontrunner of the 2025 Syracuse mayoral election, Democrat Sharon Owens’ campaign financing far surpasses that of her three competitors.

The current deputy mayor generated almost 12 times as much financial backing as two of her competitors — Republican Thomas Babilon and independent Tim Rudd — combined, according to unofficial data reported by the New York State Board of Elections Public Reporting system. Independent Alfonso Davis hasn’t reported any campaign contributions to the NYSBOE.

After over a year of campaigning, four debates and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fundraising, Owens, Babilon, Rudd and Davis will face off at the polls Tuesday. They’re each vying to become the next mayor as Ben Walsh — an independent — reaches his eight-year, two-term limit.

At around $414,000, Owens’ fundraising is about 14 times greater than Babilon’s at just under $30,000 and almost 76 times greater than Rudd’s, who raised around $5,400.

Owens is a Syracuse resident of 44 years and the city’s deputy mayor under Walsh. She’s received endorsements from prominent New York state Democrats, including Gov. Kathy Hochul. If elected, Owens would be the city’s first Black mayor.

Babilon currently works as a senior attorney for a nonprofit law firm and has resided in Syracuse for 22 years. He previously served 10 years as an assistant corporation counsel at the city’s law department. He’s received endorsements from former Corporation Counsel head Juanita Perez.

The city’s former budget director, Rudd, has had limited campaign efforts with minimal endorsements — though he did participate in the debates and gain 1,700 signatures in his initial bid.

Davis, the other independent candidate, is hoping to change the city’s “status quo” during his fourth bid for mayor. Through his independent run, he hopes to bring voters from both sides of the aisle.

Syracuse hasn’t had a Republican mayor since 2001. As of Nov. 1, there are almost 123,000 registered Democrats in Onondaga County — around 37% of all registered voters, according to the NYSBOE. Republicans make up slightly under 27%.

Using the NYSBOE’s data, The Daily Orange analyzed the contributions from each mayoral candidate’s campaign from January 2024 to Sunday, Nov. 2. Here’s what the data shows:

Campaign funds

The race for Syracuse’s next mayor has almost $450,000 behind it. Of that total, Owens’ fundraising dwarfed her competitors, raising around $414,000. In January, before any Republicans or independents entered the race, Owens’ campaign financing also outpaced, syracuse.com reported.

Babilon and Rudd raised approximately $30,000 and $5,400, respectively.

Owens’ campaign spent about $346,000 from January 2024 to Nov. 2. Babilon’s spending amounted to approximately $24,000 and Rudd spent $4,500, according to NYSBOE campaign expenditure data. In an Oct. 14 debate, Rudd said he doesn’t want to raise any money, gain endorsements or put effort into campaigning.

Hochul gave Owens a last-minute endorsement on Saturday, being the highest-ranked official to do so. Her other endorsements include Walsh, New York State Sen. Rachel May and Syracuse Chief of Fire Michael Monds.

Syracuse’s population is 148,620, according to the 2020 census. In the mayoral race in Jackson, Mississippi, a similar-sized city, the Democratic nominee for mayor reported raising $350,000 four days before the 2025 general election, June 3. The second largest spender in the Jackson race, an independent candidate, raised over $72,000.

Individual contributions

A majority of the funding came from individual donors, while Babilon’s distribution of contributor types was more mixed. All of Rudd’s donations came from individuals or unspecified contributors.

In Syracuse, individuals can donate up to $3,936.95 to a candidate’s campaign.

While Owens had the most outside organizations contribute to her campaign, 81% of her total finances came from contributors listed as individuals. Owens’ biggest donation from a single person was $5,700 from Chedy Hampson, the founder and board president of the South Side Community Growth Foundation.

Only 36% of Babilon’s funding came from contributors listed as individual donors. The largest portion of his donors didn’t list their contributor type but financed just under 45%, or $13,510, of his campaign. A business development specialist from New Jersey and a Syracuse business owner were two of his biggest individual contributors, each donating $1,000.

Rudd’s largest contribution was $3,500 — over half of his total campaign financing — from Norm Roth, a prominent Syracuse landlord and founder of University Hill Realty.

Political committees

Owens and Babilon have both publicly received support from their political parties — including the Onondaga County Democratic and Republican Committees, respectively.

The Owens Campaign’s largest committee donors and their total donation amounts include:

• Ben Walsh for Syracuse: $6,594
• 17th Ward Democratic Committee Club: $1,000
• Giambra for Senate: $500

New York 22nd Congressional District Rep. John Mannion’s campaign committee also donated $250 to Owens.

The Democratic committees behind State Sen. Chris Ryan, County Legislator Maurice “Mo” Brown, School Board Commissioner Twiggy Billue and Mannion contributed to Owens’ campaign.

The Babilon campaign’s largest committee donors and their total donation amounts include:

• Onondaga County Republican Committee: $1,000
• City of Syracuse Republican Committee: $1,000
• State Conservative Campaign Committee: $100

Few of Babilon’s contributors were political figures, though he received a donation from former State Assemblymember John Salka and Republican Onondaga County Sheriff candidate RJ Lenhart’s committee. Much of Babilon’s political support in this category comes from local conservative groups.

Only 2% — or around $8,700 — of Owens’ campaign contributions came from political committees. For Babilon, this figure sits at approximately 7% — or $2,150.

Political action committees

Owens is the only candidate to receive contributions from political action committees, which have provided around $25,ooo to her campaign. The PACs that have donated so far are all based in New York and have local ties to Onondaga County.

The Owens campaign’s largest PAC donors and their total donation amounts include:

• 1199 Service Employees International Union – New York State: $6,028
• Local Union 43, IBEW Community Fund: $5,000
• REALTORS Political Action Committee of New York State: $4,650

1199SEIU is the largest healthcare union in the U.S., according to its website. In a May 6 Instagram post, Owens wrote the union’s support of working families aligns with her mayoral platform “that works for everyone.”

Local Union 43 is an electrician union, comprising over 800,000 members nationwide. The union joined Owens during her “Big Things Ahead” Vision unveiling on June 18, where its members announced their endorsement.

RPAC is a committee supporting candidates who are “aligned with real estate interests,” according to its website. The committee is affiliated with the National Association of REALTORS, which works to protect homeownership and private property rights.

Businesses

The Owens campaign received $16,050 from businesses.

In her economic plan, “An Inclusive and Growing Economy,” Owens touches on building initiatives to support small businesses and enhance neighborhood amenities. She also wants to increase financial and technical support for BIPOC, LGBTQ+ and small business owners through the city of Syracuse Economic Development Corporation.

The Owens campaign’s largest business donors and their total donation amounts include:

• SappSuperStarSports LLC: $3,900
• Costello, Cooney & Fearon, PLLC: $3,500
• Baruch Park Place and Vinlandic, LLCs (each): $2,000

LLCs and PLLCs contributed $6,950 to Babilon’s campaign, though many of these businesses didn’t have their contributor type listed. In total, 15 incorporations, four corporations and 10 LLCs contributed.

One of Babilon’s biggest platforms in his mayoral bid is to ease regulations on local businesses in Syracuse.

The Babilon Campaign’s largest listed business donors and their total donation amounts include:

• Rail Line Event Center, LLC: $1,450
• Woodruff Lee Carroll, P.C.: $1,035
• Cuse Merchandise, Cuse Realty and Essam Properties, LLCs (each): $1,000

Election Day is Tuesday. Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.

To vote on Syracuse University’s campus, registered students can visit Huntington Hall or the Goldstein Student Center. Other polling locations can be found at Onondaga County’s website.

DISCLAIMER: All figures in this story, and subsequent calculations, are from the New York State Board of Elections’ Public Reporting system. All figures and calculations were found and performed on or before Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025. During the analysis, exact duplicate entries in the dataset were removed to ensure accurate counts of unique contributors. The NYSBOE collects its campaign contribution data through its electronic filing system and publishes when it’s processed, which may contribute to some inconsistencies after this article’s publication.

Published on November 4, 2025 at 12:26 am