Don't count Dozono out

Back in January, Sho Dozono was able to qualify for public funds in—relativley speaking—no time at all, and today he decided to stay in the race despite the fact that he will no longer have access to those funds. 

On Thursday, State Administrative Law Judge David Gerstenfeld ruled that Dozono is unable to receive the public financing he qualified for by collecting over 4,000 signatures in a few weeks. The legal challenge over Dozono’s eligibility for over $150,000 was proffered because Dozono accepted a research poll valued at $27,000 as a campaign gift last December. The poll violated the $12,000 limit on goods or services that a candidate participating in public financing can receive. 

Dozono, a wealthy businessman, has said in the past that he doesn’t want to run a big money campaign. On Friday, however, contributions big and small poured into his campaign, as supporters urged him to stay in the race. 

Although Dozono has said in the past that he would quit if he didn’t qualify for the funds, today at a press conference, the candidate said that he “think[s] it's important for the city to have a good race. Whoever wins should win because they're the best candidate not by default.” 

Sam Adams, Dozono’s primary opponent in the field of 14, urged Dozono to stay in the race, even though he initially appealed the businessman’s certification for public funds. 

Dozono’s campaign manager Amie Abbott, took a swing at Adams, noting that “this is about a City Hall insider, who thinks he is entitled to the Mayor's job—using every political maneuver possible to eliminate his only competition. Commissioner Adams championed a flawed system that Sho tried to make work and he received specific instructions from the Auditor…only to have Sam Adams spend $10,000 to over rule the Auditor’s decision.”