Slay

While opponents ratcheted up their recall campaign against him, Mayor Francis Slay greeted the push with political insouciance.

But, as he was downplaying the petition drive, supporters were quietly circling the wagons. Late last year, attorney Brad Ketcher formed a PAC — “Proponents’ Group Committee” — that raised more than $90,000 with the expressed intent of fighting the recall drive against Slay.

The campaign collected cash from businesses, law firms and unions friendly with the mayor, in addition to $40,000 from retired financier and school choice enthusiast Rex Sinquefield.

Money raised went to pay Slay’s new fundraising whiz, Democratic consultant Matt Lieberman.

The recall attempt fizzled out months ago when organizers conceded they would not get the requisite 43,000 signatures to trigger a vote.

But now the calendar has officially turned the page on the effort: The city charter protects the mayor from recall within six months of the end of his current four-year term, which concludes in April.

So, the anti-recall group has emptied its coffers into Slay’s main campaign account. Last week, the committee contributed $89,400 to “Slay for Mayor,” extending the incumbent’s broad financial advantage even further.