Tuesday, May 26, 2026

Money in the 2026 Greenburgh Supervisor Campaign

There are four weeks to go until the Democratic Primary which will decide who will take office as Greenburgh Town Supervisor for a two-year term beginning January 2027.   Early voting begins on June 13th. The candidates have posted their initial campaign finance disclosures at the The New York State Board of Elections.   

To contextualize, I'm comparing the reported numbers (with a month to go) to the final campaign financial results for Paul Feiner's three previous seriously contested primaries. 

 

2026 (5/22)            RAISED            SPENT      PAUL’S HEAD START    REMAINING 

FEINER                 $18,460             $21,773     $18,196                           $14,883

MCGOEY               $52,347            $14,280                                             $48,216*

 

2021                     

FEINER                 $46,816            $84,142     $87,263            

YOUNG                 $49,517            $48,886                                   

                        

2013                                                                 

FEINER                 $16,838            $67,760     $132,977          

BERNSTEIN          $58,233            $53,724                                    

 

2007                                                                 

FEINER                  $52,980            $71,416    $138,500          

BERGER                $37,519            $76,177                                               

(*McGoey's $48,218 remaining funds include a $10,000 loan he made to his campaign).   


The first data that catches attention is that Feiner has let his campaign account dwindle over the years. He entered each of his previous three major primary campaigns with daunting amounts of cash in his war chest.  This time around, however, he started with just $18,196, almost $60,000 less than when his campaign against Bob Bernstein started in 2021.  In that year, however, Feiner aggressively raised money and was able to spend his largest amount on a campaign ($84,142) and still have almost $50,000 left over.  Feiner will have nothing close to that amount to spend this time around.

McGoey’s fundraising is prodigious, and he will almost certainly surpass Bernstein in raising the most money with which to challenge Feiner.  McGoey will also be the recipient of independent expenditures on his behalf by the Greenburgh Town Democratic Party which endorsed him.  However, examining these impressive numbers  reveals a potential weakness in McGoey’s campaign when we look at donors who actually live in Greenburgh.   Here, Paul has the advantage.  

Inside Greenburgh Contributions in 2026

Contributions of $100 or more:

Feiner has         75 Greenburgh itemized donors who have given $12,261

McGoey has     40 Greenburgh itemized donors who have given $12,250

Also among small contributors (who have given less than $100), Paul has a large margin over McGoey

Contributions of less than $100 (non-itemized –the location of the donor is unknown)

Feiner:              $4,499

McGoey            $1,290

Without evidence, I’m assuming most of these donors live inside Greenburgh.

Feiner also received $251 from a partnership located in Greenburgh. McGoey received $150 from a different Greenburgh partnership.  

Feiner has one big ($1000+) donor from inside Greenburgh (and none outside)

McGoey has two big ($1000+) donors inside Greenburgh (and five outside)

 

Outside Greenburgh Contributions:

McGoey is by and away the preferred Greenburgh supervisor for donors who don’t actually live in Greenburgh

Paul took in $1,050 in itemized donations from non-Greenburgh residents, while McGoey has piled up $17,558 from outside Greenburgh itemized donors, far exceeding his total from Greenburgh donors. McGoey's outside Greenburgh donors include five large ($1000+) donors (two individuals from Yonkers, two from Ossining and one from Pelham). 

 

PACS/Unions/Businesses

McGoey again crushes Feiner when it comes to non-individual donations.

Feiner has a mere $500 donation from a PAC (Soft Drink & Brewery Workers PAC).

McGoey has $21,099 in donations from these categories:

Businesses/LLCs                           $. 2,500   

PACS:                                            $17,300

Unions                                           $     550  

Politicians                                      $.    650

Other                                             $       99     

Unsurprisingly, in light of McGoey’s professional background, the PACs amount includes $13,500 from Fire Fighter related PACs.  



Observations: 

Paul Feiner has been winning elections in Greenburgh since 1983. You would have to be 62 years old to have voted in an election in Greenburgh where Feiner was not on the ballot either for the county legislature or town supervisor. He has won every local race he has ever entered, swatting away periodic challenges from mostly political novices (only losing two congressional bids).  In decades, he has faced  only one true nail-biter—back in 2005, when Bill Greenawalt came within a handful of votes of unseating him.  With this track record, betting against Paul Feiner seems foolish. 

This primary cycle, however, seems different. Feiner has neglected his fundraising and, for the first time in memory, enters a campaign stripped of his customary intimidating financial advantage. Many of his veteran loyalists have moved away or aged out of activity.  Feiner is running an improvized campaign on a shoestring budget—relying almost entirely on his near-absolute name recognition.

Barry McGoey, whether he welcomes the label or not, is the embodiment of the party establishment candidate. He carries the near-unanimous backing of the local Democratic Party, which will deploy its funds on his behalf. McGoey has individual donations from many sources outside of Greenburgh. He has the backing of unions related to the firefighters, the police, corrections officers, teamsters and others, and the PACs affiliated with those unions. All he lacks is town-wide name recognition outside his base as an Ardsley Trustee.

Over the next few weeks, Greenburgh residents can expect blizzard of mailings and digital ads aimed at boosting McGoey's name with potential primary voters. In four weeks we will find out whether a well-funded establishment blitz be enough to end the thirty-five-year supervisor career of Paul Feiner.


 - Dan Weinfeld.  you can contact me with comments at danweinfeld@gmail.com

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