Sheila Oliver: Not a big fundraiser, not a big giver, and she lost her cell phone

Sheila Oliver (D-East Orange), who has enough committed support to become the next Assembly Speaker, has a campaign war chest of $5,407, according to reports filed with the New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission.  Oliver has raised $30,599 and spent $26,191.

Oliver has made relatively few campaign contributions: $3,200 to the Essex County Democratic Committee; $1,750 to the Passaic County Democratic Committee; $1,000 to Gov. Jon Corzine's re-election campaign; $70 to Assemblywoman Elease Evans (D-Paterson), $100 to Passaic County Clerk candidate Keith Kazmark; $80 to Friends of Ron Rice; and $100 to the Woodland Park Democratic Committee.  (Evans is one of the legislators who has not yet endorsed in the race for Speaker.)

Her top donors - for now -- are SEIU Local 1199 ($8,200), NJEA ($3,000), AFSCME ($2,500), and the West Caldwell-based Community Education Centers ($2,500).

Oliver runs in District 34, which is among the safest Democratic districts in the state, and her reports indicate relatively few voter contact expenses.  She spent $2,000 on rent for her East Orange campaign headquarters, $330 for "campaign giveaways," and about $9,300 on a community picnic ($5,650 of that went to her event planner, political fundraiser Ray Ferrioli.)

Her campaign has contributed about $1,900 to various charities (but nothing to the North Ward Cultural Center or the Robert Treat Charter School), bought a $573 laptop from P.C. Richard, rented an $85 water cooler from Culligan, $60 to send flowers to a constituent, and spent $82 on a New York Times subscription.  She's also spent $995 since the June primary on cell phones from AT&T and T-Mobile, plus an additional $130 for a replacement phone. 

There are some relatively big travel expenses: $1,600 for gasoline; $800 to stay at the Washington, D.C. Hyatt while attending a conference (plus $204 for Amtrak and $115 for dinner at the Capital Grille); and $364 on hotel rooms while attending conferences in Atlantic City and in Bushkill, PA.