As the saying goes, it takes money to make money. It also takes money to become Seattle’s next mayor, which is why it’s no surprise that mayoral candidate and state Sen. Ed Murray – who’s barred for raising campaign funds while the legislature is in session – has pounced on a two-week window between the close of the regular session in Olympia and the start of the special session Monday to pad his campaign bank account. He was out last night doing just that, shaking hands and collecting checks as part of a hastily planned fundraiser at a privately-owned condo in Belltown.

Described in advance by campaign spokesperson Sandeep Kaushik as “a sizable and lively event,” the fundraiser once again proved Murray’s ability to bring in large sums of cash on short notice, netting more than $20,000, according to Kaushik. Prior to the start of this year’s legislative session Murray raked in $117,000 in just nine days, before his fundraising freeze went into effect.

Kaushik says a little over 200 people attended last night’s fundraiser, describing the crowd as a “pretty broad and eclectic mix” of people that included state legislators like Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles and notable local politicians like Joe McDermott.

“He was really on. I thought he really cranked it,” says Kaushik of Murray’s remarks last night, which apparently included nods to his political origins and his inspirations, like Bobby Kennedy. Kaushik says Murray also called for “moving forward with progressive ideas by building ties that stretch across boundaries,” and pushed for making SPD a “model police department.” Kaushik says Murray wants to “provide a style of leadership that brings people together.”

While the fundraising freeze that goes with Murray’s gig in Olympia would be enough to cripple many candidates, it doesn’t seem to be taking the wind out of Murray’s sails. His fundraising totals so far – and one-night hauls like last night’s $20K – seem to back that up. Kaushik sales a few smaller fundraising efforts are planned before the start of the special session on Monday, but last night’s was the big one.

“I think it’s a demonstration of Ed’s appeal,” says Kaushik of the money Murray netted last night.

“The pace of our fundraising is lapping the other candidates. … I think we’re going to come out of this two weeks in a position where [the fundraising freeze] is not going to be an insurmountable hurdle.”