Micah Lasher Files Major Fundraising Lead In UWS Assembly Race

UPPER WEST SIDE, NY — He entered late, but now he leads the pack.

Micah Lasher is leading the competition for the open Upper West Side State and Morningside Heights State Assembly seat in the amount of money raised so far and the total number of donations, according to March campaign finance disclosures.

Lasher, a former policy director for Gov. Kathy Hochul, has raised $234,795 since announcing his campaign in January, when he joined an already crowded field to replace outgoing Assembly Member Danny O'Donnell, who served the district for over 20 years and announced his retirement in November.

That money comes from over 600 donors, according to records and the Lasher campaign, giving him an average donation size of close to $400.

Lasher leads the four other candidates who have filed their March campaign disclosures, with the next closest candidate, real estate lobbyist and Community Board 7 member, Melissa Rosenberg, raising $12,836, records show.

His campaign said Thursday that Lasher is the first candidate in the race to apply for the maximum amount of public matching funds, for a total of $175,000, due to 160 small donations from in-district contributions.

“Receiving broad support from the community that I grew up in has been deeply moving,” Lasher said. “Our success during this fundraising period is a testament to the grassroots strength of this campaign, and the belief that West Siders have in the possibility of bringing a new kind of politics to Albany.”

The largest donors to the campaign so far includes venture capitalist Bradley Tusk, cofounder of Democratic-connected communications firm SKDKnickerbocker, Josh Isay, and a daughter of former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Emma, who all wrote checks of $3,000 to Lasher on the day he entered the race.

On that same day, Lasher also announced endorsements from a wide array of heavy-hitters in the Democratic Party connected to the district, including Reps. Jerry Nadler and Adriano Espaillat, City Comptroller Brad Lander, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, State Senators Robert Jackson and Brad Hoylman-Sigal, Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal, City Council Member Shaun Abreu, City Councilmember Gale Brewer, former City Comptroller Scott Stringer and former Manhattan Borough President Ruth Messinger.

Two other candidates have filed their March financial disclosures as of Thursday afternoon: Barry Weinberg, a data analyst and former chair of Community Board 9, who raised $3,900, and Carmen Quinones, the president of the NYCHA Douglass Housing Tenants Association, who raised $1,552.

Public defender Eli Northrup has yet to file his disclosure as of Thursday afternoon, which has a filing deadline on Friday.

To learn more about Lasher, click here for his website.