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By Colin Mixson
Brooklyn Daily
Deutsch has made his mark.
At the end of the previous campaign filing deadline in March, when the Council candidates counted their contributions — and spectators ranked the contenders on a dollar-by-dollar basis, Chaim Deutsch hadn’t even registered as a candidate. When the contenders’ donations are re-tallied on May 15, however, following the end of the second filing period, Deutsch claims he’ll top the money race.
“I’ve got everything needed,” Deutsch said. “Whatever money I can raise for the primary, I got already. It took about two weeks.”
Deutsch is campaigning to replace his term-limited boss, Councilman Michael Nelson.
Armed with a cellphone and a list of contacts, the democratic Council candidate said he was able to raise more than $70,000 in private donations within a span of 14 days.
Once word got out that he needed some help, calls from all over the 48th District, from Midwood to Manhattan Beach, started pouring in with promises of cash, according to Deutsch.
“All the fund-raising was done over the phone, and a lot of people called me up, from all over the place, and asked if they could help,” said Deutsch. “They were very excited and very supportive.”
The council candidate from Midwood compiled his impressive list of contacts from his many years Nelson’s staff as the councilman’s chief of operations, from his work with the Flatbush Shomrim — which Deutsch founded — and for his efforts to assist the community following Hurricane Sandy, for which he’s received several honors from local civic associations.
“Chaim Deutsch did more than anybody else for the community, more than any elected official, more than anybody,” said Manhattan Beach Community Group president Ira Zalcman of Deutsch’s work after Hurricane Sandy. “I told him people were hungry, there was food, I told him people were cold, he was there with blankets, he was there with heaters. His ability to mobilize forces and get the things that people needed is amazing.”
Deutsch said he’s raised everything he needs to receive the maximum $92,400 allotment of matching campaign funds, a system by which the city rewards candidates who receive support through numerous small donations from local constituents. All told, he’s raised more than enough to cover the maximum spending limit for the primary election, $168,000.
The rapid-fire fund-raising proves that Deutsch is a major player in the race to replace Nelson, according to political strategist Hank Sheinkompf.
“Anybody who can raise $70,000 in such a short time is a player,” said Sheinkompf. “And it will be him and the Russians shooting it out.”
Three Russian-American candidates are also running in the 48th Council District, which was dubbed the “Super-Russian District” after the lines were redrawn in 2012.
Deutsch didn’t even register with the Campaign Finance board until after the end of the previous filing period, saying he’d rather have no showing than a bad showing once the donations became public.
Before that, he was so busy trying to help folks who were battling to regain their livelihoods and lifestyles following Hurricane Sandy that he didn’t have time for fund raising, according to Deutsch.
“Of course, I could have fund raised,” he said. “I was still helping people deal with Hurricane Sandy, and I didn’t have time for myself to start raising money.”
“Eventually, you realize it’s the last minute, then that’s when you get a wake up call and say, ‘I have to start working on my campaign and figuring out how I’m going to get my message out.”
Reach reporter Colin Mixson at cmixson@cnglocal.com or by calling (718) 260-4514.