By Kate Taylor for The New York Times – Twenty-two months before New York City chooses its next mayor, Christine C. Quinn, the City Council speaker and a Democrat, has become the first candidate to surpass a key threshold: She has raised all the money she is allowed to spend in the primary under the city’s public financing system.

Ms. Quinn’s campaign consultant, Josh Isay, said Thursday that Ms. Quinn had raised more than $4.9 million. With the public money she now expects to qualify for, she will reach $6,729,000, which is the maximum amount mayoral candidates who accept public financing will be permitted to spend before the primary.

Mr. Isay said that completing the fund-raising for the primary gave Ms. Quinn “a huge advantage, because the campaign will be able to focus on organizing and she can concentrate more on talking to voters and less on raising money.”

Political operatives not affiliated with the campaign said the milestone was more important symbolically than financially, since most of the candidates were expected eventually to raise the same amount of money.

“It makes her the automatic front-runner,” said Susan Del Percio, a Republican political strategist. But she added that without a doubt, “any serious contender for mayor would reach the limit.”

And Michael D. Tobman, a consultant not affiliated with any of the mayoral campaigns, offered a cautionary analysis, saying: “That it happens at this early stage is impressive, but not terribly significant. Early money doesn’t always translate into votes.”

Ms. Quinn will not stop fund-raising entirely. She can still raise money toward a potential runoff vote — which would be held if no Democrat were to get 40 percent of the vote in the primary — and toward the general election campaign, although there is currently no declared Republican candidate. The spending limit for a runoff campaign would be $3,213,000; for the general election, it will be $6,426,000.

At this point, however, Ms. Quinn plans to focus on gathering small contributions in order to increase her public matching funds. Under the city’s campaign finance system, each dollar a New York City resident contributes, up to $175, is matched with $6 in public funds.

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