Katz, Yassky Appear To Lead In Comptroller Fund-Raising

The race for comptroller is heating up, with two City Council members pulling in about $600,000 each over the last six months.

Melinda Katz, who represents parts of Queens, may have eked out a lead in the fund-raising race, taking in "more than $600,000" in the most recent fund-raising stretch, a campaign aide said, for a total haul of $2 million.

David Yassky, who represents parts of Brooklyn, said he raised about $600,000 in the last six months, but has pulled in a total of $930,000 by rolling over funds from a previous council fund-raising account. He began raising money for the comptroller's seat in October, he said.

The president of the Bronx, Adolfo Carrion, raised $500,000 over the last six months, for a total fund-raising catch of about $1.85 million. He has about $1.3 million in his campaign account, an aide said. Mr. Carrion had been considered a likely mayoral candidate, but announced in December that he was going to seek the comptroller's seat instead.

A council member who represents parts of Queens, David Weprin, collected between $325,000 and $350,000 for the seat over the last six months, he said. He has raised about $1.6 million overall, and has between $1.3 million and $1.4 million on hand for his campaign.

A council member who represents parts of Queens, John Liu, did not return phone calls yesterday about his fund-raising figures. Mr. Liu is considered a likely candidate for comptroller.

A council member who represents parts of Brooklyn and is considered a likely candidate for comptroller, Simcha Felder, declined to share his fund-raising figures with The New York Sun, an aide said.

Another candidate for comptroller, Assemblyman James Brennan of Brooklyn, could not be reached yesterday.

Rep. Anthony Weiner is leading the mayoral hopefuls in the latest stretch of fund-raising, collecting more than $1.6 million. The speaker of the City Council, Christine Quinn, raised $1.1 million during the same period, and the comptroller, William Thompson Jr., raised just more than $1 million.