Two of London’s best-known mayoral candidates have revealed their election donors, pulling back the veil on not only their financial backers but also the relative health of their campaigns.

For Matt Brown, it may be a record-setting effort — he’s collected nearly 1,000 individual donations, suggesting his campaign may have broken ground on a new model for bankrolling local election bids.

The 876 citizen donors indicate the Brown team’s focus on small donations and intimate in-home receptions over large events is paying off. It’s believed the campaign is well past the $100,000 mark.

By contrast, political veteran Joe Swan, who has polled a distant third behind Brown and Paul Cheng, released a relatively short list of 34 individual donors, heavy on developers.

The fundraising heft mirrors what opinion polls have suggested: Brown appears to be the favourite to win Monday, while Swan could finish third.

Cheng, likely the only candidate with a shot at defeating Brown, toldThe Free Press he’ll publish his donors before the election, but offered few details in a brief Friday interview.

“We’ll be releasing it,” said Cheng, who has largely self-financed his surprisingly strong mayoral bid.

Brown’s campaign is almost certainly a record-setter for fund­raising in London municipal elections. Since he entered the race in January, there have been 939 donations, including 876 from citizens, 56 from businesses and seven from unions.

Only 311 donations — total — were collected by Joe Fontana and Anne Marie DeCicco-Best in the 2010 mayoral race.

Candidates are under no obligation to publicly disclose their donor lists before election day, but Brown pledged early to do so.

“This is a true community campaign,” he said in a statement.

“I’m proud to have support from every corner of the city and that our ‘better together’ message has resonated with a record number of Londoners,” Brown said.

Brown’s donor list does, indeed, suggest a wide range of citizens has helped bankroll his mayoral run.

Notable political names on Brown’s list include departing councillors Nancy Branscombe and Judy Bryant, Mayor Joni Baechler, ex-politicians Gord Hume and Gina Barber, ex-mayor Jane Bigelow, MPP Deb Matthews and Coun. Paul Hubert.

Business-world backers on his list include decorated medical researcher Cal Stiller, jeweller John Nash, Big Viking Games, Siskinds law firm, Tricar developers and Tim Kingsmill.

Friday, Swan published his donor list and admitted he’s “running a modest campaign” with just 34 donors. Among the few individual citizens is ex-police chief Murray Faulkner and longtime lawyer Claude Pensa.

--- --- ---

FUNDRAISING RULES

No one donor can give more than $750 to any one candidate, or more than $5,000 to two or more candidates running for the same council or local board.

All candidates must submit their financial statements for the period ending Dec. 31, 2014, to city hall by March 27, 2015.

If a candidate is running a deficit and wants to keep fundraising beyond Dec. 31, they must submit a formal request to city hall. Extensions can be made to June 30, 2015, with statements due to city hall on Sept. 25.

Financial statements are made public on the city’s website, london.ca.

Matt Brown donor list by The London Free Press

Donor List Swan for Mayor Oct 15-14 by The London Free Press