ALBANY - Assembly Member-elect Patrick Chludzinski and Assembly Member Monica Wallace combined to spend close to $955,000 in the race for the 143rd District seat this year - with more than one-third of the winner's spending eligible to be covered by public money, the latest campaign filings show.
Chludzinski, a Cheektowaga police lieutenant who ran on the Republican and Conservative lines, defeated Wallace, D-Lancaster, an eight-year incumbent and former federal law clerk who ran on the Democratic and Working Families party lines, by 2,229 votes (51.9% to 48.1%) on Nov. 5, according to the Erie County Board of Elections unofficial results.
The district, which includes a sliver of Buffalo, stretches east covering all of Cheektowaga and areas such as Lancaster and Depew.
In 2024, Wallace raised $461,507 and spent $539,771, leaving her campaign at a balance of $50,476. Chludzinski raised $256,119 and spent $413,668. His campaign balance is at a deficit of $158,535 below zero. The combined spending totaled $953,198 according to the latest disclosures from State Board of Elections chronicling campaign activity up to 27 days after the Nov. 5 election.
"Elected officials have an obligation to ensure that taxpayer money is spent on the public not for their own personal gain," Wallace said. "I can think of no bigger waste of taxpayer money than to spend it on political campaigns which is why I refuse to participate."
Chludzinski's campaign spent $359,154 on television ads - of which $128,789 (36%) were qualified expenditures that can be covered by public dollars. Taxpayers could pay for various amounts at local TV stations including WIVB-TV; WGRZ-TV; WKBW-TV; Spectrum Charter Cable; and Sinclair Broadcasting.
He spent $7,825 in radio advertisements eligible for public funding across several stations like WYRK-FM in Buffalo; WGRF-FM in Buffalo; WBEN-AM in Amherst; and WHTT-FM in Buffalo.
"It's an enormously expensive Assembly race but the outcome shows that raising the most money doesn't guarantee victory," said Blair Horner executive director of New York Public Interest Research Group.