Campaign finance disclosures show GOP mayoral candidate Bill Henderson and his All in for Rye ticket substantially ahead in fundraising. For the period ending July 11, 2025, Henderson has raised $26,225 to fund his campaign.
In contrast, Democrat Josh Nathan and Independent Rick McCabe are neck and neck at around $4,000 but Nathan will also be able to dip into the funds of the Rye City Democratic Committee that has raised $13,600. The local Rye GOP is not actively raising funds at this time.
It is early days for the fall campaign, and there are two more campaign finance deadlines before the fall election on Tuesday, November 4, 2025.
Here is the rundown.
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| Henderson (R) | McCabe (I) | Nathan (D) | Rye City Dems | |
| Total | $26,225.00 | $3,850.00 | $3,851.00 | $13,600.00 |
| Average | $504.33 | $319.17 | $226.53 | $219.35 |
| Count | 52 | 12 | 17 | 62 |
| Highest | $2,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 | $1,000.00 |
| $1,000+ donations | 15 | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Rye address | $23,100.00 | $2,005.00 | $3,050.00 | $7,900.00 |
| % from Rye | 88.08% | 52.08% | 79.20% | 58.09% |
Henderson
More more, bigger donations and the most local. Bill Henderson is running for mayor on the GOP ticket, along with council candidates James Fee, Robin Jovanovich, and Maria Shuck. Henderson is a sitting councilman and his running mates Fee and Shuck are first time candidates. Jovanovich is the former publisher of the Rye Record, and her late husband Peter served on the council and also mounted an unsuccessful run for mayor.
Some of the local donors names: Kevin and Amanda Kavanagh (PlaySmart non-profit, Kevin served on the board of the Rye YMCA), Matt Anderson (CEO of The Osborn), Jana Seitz (secretary of local GOP, the Friends of Edith Read board), John Leonard (former school board candidate).
The local Rye GOP is not actively raising money.
Henderson’s comment: “The “All in for Rye” team of Robin Jovanovich, Maria Shuck, James Fee and myself are very pleased with our fundraising results to date. I think it’s a testament to the strength of our team, our message and the organization of our campaign. We are very thankful to our donors who have put their trust in our campaign. Of course our work continues, and the real measure of success will be measured at the ballot box come November 4.”
McCabe
Smaller dollars, no party support and no running mates. Rick McCabe is running for mayor as an independent candidate. McCabe ran for city council in the fall of 2024 on the GOP ticket but dropped out due to illness. He has been chair of the Rye Recreation Commission Chair since January 2024 and on the rec commission since 2018.
One current parlor game is figuring out McCabe’s support base, and if he draws voters away from Henderson or Nathan. Having run on the GOP ticket, some speculate he might draw from Henderson. Another tell tale may be a $1,000 campaign contribution to McCabe from sitting councilmember Julie Souza. Souza is allied with current Mayor Josh Cohn (and what used to be a voting block of four when Carolina Johnson and Ben Stacks were on council). Souza and Cohn have no love lost for Henderson or for Nathan, but they are both aligned with former local Democratic chair Meg Cameron, so that is another consideration that may pull support from Nathan.
McCabe’s comment: “McCabe for Mayor fundraising is going well — we started less than three weeks ago and are happy with the momentum so far. Early contributions are incredibly valuable for an upstart, independent campaign. I’m very grateful for the supporters that have already contributed and I’m confident in the financial support we’ll continue to see through the election. Obviously, the major parties have a built-in advantage raising cash, but I believe our mission of putting the people of Rye above political parties will resonate with fundraising and at the ballot box. At this early stage, our expenses have been mostly nominal — things like prepping the website, some design work, clipboards and pens for our successful ballot petition drive. The biggest ticket item was the legal support to counter the Rye Republicans’ challenge to my ballot petition.”
Nathan
Smaller dollars raised but he will benefit from an organized local Democratic party with financial resources. Josh Nathan is running for mayor. He is a current councilman and has also logged time on the Rye City School District board. Nathan is joined by sitting councilman James Ward, Marion Anderson, and Amy Kesavan. Kesavan is new to the political scene, and Anderson is a long-time resident and Democratic district leader.
Local donors include former local Democratic chair Shari Punyon and at least two individuals associated with the Rye Sustainability Committee – current chair Hilary Garland and former chair Patti Capparelli.
Also note that council candidate Marion Anderson is raising funds separately from the rest of her ticket. Those donations are going to the Rye City Democratic Committee and are part of the group’s overall total.
Nathan’s comment: ”Our campaign is off the ground and running. We are encouraged by the surge of grassroots support we’ve received and look forward to making our case to Rye voters on the issues that matter most to our City.”
Rye City Democratic Committee
An organized local political group, and the only local party group raising funds for candidates. The local GOP has less structure and support for its candidates.
The most gifts, smallest average donation and a substantial percentage of funds from outside Rye. It is important to note there are other uses of these funds in addition to candidate support but it is reasonable to assume much of the funds will be available for the fall campaign. There is also a large fundraiser expected in the fall that was delayed from earlier this summer.
Some of the local donor names: Ken Jenkins (county executive), Chris Cohan (Rye Sustainability Committee), Sara Goddard (former councilmember) and Jamie Jensen (current councilmember).
Source Documents
Take a look and let us know what you see (downloadable CSV files):
campaign finance disclosure 2025 July 11 – GOP candidate Bill Henderson & ticket
campaign finance disclosure 2025 July 11 – independent Rick McCabe
campaign finance disclosure 2025 July 11 – Democratic candidate Josh Nathan & ticket
