UPDATED, Aug. 4, 4:35 p.m.: Paul Massey is making his bid for City Hall official today.
The president of investment sales at Cushman & Wakefield plans to file paperwork today with the New York City Campaign Finance Board to create a committee to raise funds for the 2017 race, according to a memo his campaign released Thursday.
Massey, a registered Republican, plans to make a formal announcement in the fall.
His committee will be called “Massey for Mayor 2017,” and the co-founder of the former Massey Knakal Realty Services brokerage said he will not participate in the city’s public-matching fund, which matches small donations from city residents with public dollars on a $6 to $1 basis. Instead, he will raise money entirely from donors, including himself.
“I love this city and I am concerned about where it’s headed,” Massey said in a statement. “My team and I are taking a leadership role by filing my candidacy today. We are currently meeting with New York City civic and thought leaders, as well as with individual New Yorkers to hear their ideas and to listen to their concerns. In the months ahead, we will be sharing our strategic vision for the city.”
Mayor Bill de Blasio’s campaign shot back, nothing that under the mayor’s administration crime is at an all-time low, jobs are at record highs, graduation rates and test scores continue to improve and the city is building and preserving affordable housing at a record pace.
“We are happy to match that record against any resident of New York City or Larchmont,” a spokesperson for the campaign wrote, referencing the fact that Massey splits his time between homes in Westchester and the city.
In May, Massey told The Real Deal that he plans to raise “boatloads of money” and would model his campaign on the famed Massey Knakal [TRDataCustom] territory system that divided the city into 50 regions each headed by a broker.
De Blasio, a Democrat, is up for a second term. Massey told his campaign staff in May to shut down a fundraising committee he had launched similar to de Blasio’s Campaign for One New York, which drew criticism for raising money from contributors who have business before the city.
The real estate industry has a love-hate relationship with the mayor, who isn’t just facing pressure from Republicans. Many Democrats are unhappy with the way he’s run the city and there’s been speculation he could face a challenge in his party’s primary. Developer Don Peebles is considering a run for mayor as well, possibly as a Democrat or an independent.
Massey has a long history of donating to Republican candidates. Earlier this year he donated $100,000 to a pro-Jeb Bush Super PAC.