Ben Walsh starts campaign year with 10 times more money than challengers Syracuse.com 1/26/2021 Chris Baker, syracuse.com Syracuse, N.Y. — Mayor Ben Walsh started the 2021 campaign season with a massive fundraising advantage over his potential opponents, according to campaign filings reported to the state earlier this month. Walsh, a political independent who is up for re-election this year, raised nearly $110,000 in the second half of 2020 and spent $22,844. He starts the year with $378,170 remaining in his campaign account. That’s more than 10 times more money than his two Democratic opponents combined. Saturday, he’ll host a virtual mayor’s ball, an event that’s typically served as the mayor’s biggest money-getter. A standard ticket is $25 and a premium ticket is $200 — significantly lower than ticket prices in previous years.