Fleischmann sitting pretty in black

You have to hand it to West Hartford Democratic Represenative Andrew Fleischmann, being the first candidate running for Secratary of State to raise over 100,000 without taking out any loans is pretty impressive.

The Hartford Courant today reports on Fleischman's war chest versus the other five candidates who are all running for the Secratary post.

Fleischmann filed his first quarterly report Thursday, showing that he raised $102,623 in the three-month period ending June 30.

Robert A. Landino of Chester and Audrey Blondin of Litchfield are the other candidates to raise more than $100,000, but they have heavily subsidized their own campaigns.

Landino's campaign reported raising $63,150 in the past three months. He has $177,939 cash on hand, but that includes $75,000 in loans from himself.

Blondin's campaign reported raising $15,795 in the past quarter, but $10,000 was from herself. She has $131,861 cash on hand, but she owes herself $112,000 in loans.

Two other candidates, John Nussbaum and Norma Rodriguez-Reyes, both of New Haven, trail in the early fundraising. Nussbaum's latest report shows he has $19,705 cash on hand and is $40,000 in debt. Rodriguez-Reyes' report was unavailable.

State Rep. Evelyn Mantilla, D-Hartford, is expected to declare her candidacy this summer. She raised $32,000 through an exploratory committee in the first three months of 2005. A report for the second quarter was unavailable Thursday.