The Brennan Center regularly compiles the latest
news concerning the corrosive nature of money in New York State politics—and
the ongoing need for public financing and robust campaign finance
reform. This week’s links were contributed by Eric Petry and Syed Zaidi.
For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the
Twitter hashtags #moNeYpolitics and #fairelex.
NEW YORK
New York Times Investigation Sheds Light on Moreland
Commission’s Operations
According to an extensive investigation by
the New York Times, the office of Governor Cuomo allegedly tried to
control the operations of the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public
Corruption, by steering its investigations away from groups that were politically
connected to the governor. For example, when commission investigators sought to
review political donations and communications by the Real Estate Board of New
York—a trade group whose members include some of Cuomo’s biggest donors—in an
effort to connect the dots on a valuable housing tax break, the governor’s
secretary reportedly instructed commissioners not to subpoena the organization.
Ultimately, the commission declined to do so, gaining information from a
voluntary request instead. In addition, although the investigation of
independent expenditure groups was part of the commission’s mandate, the
governor’s staff allegedly told commissioners not to mention a pro-Cuomo
organization, the Committee to Save New York—which spent more than $16 million
on lobbying and elections without fully disclosing the source of its
contributions—in their final report. Governor Cuomo’s office released a statement contesting the characterization of events by the Times, arguing that since the commission
was created by and reported to Cuomo, he could not “interfere” with it. Federal
prosecutors are investigating
the governor’s decision to shut down with commission. Before it was shuttered,
the Moreland Commission recommended
public campaign financing and other campaign finance fixes to address Albany’s
culture of corruption, but the legislative session ended without meaningful
reform.
Feds Probe Campaign Expenses of NY Sen. George Maziarz
A
federal investigation, led by U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, is continuing
the Moreland Commission's work to examine campaign expenditures made by 28
state senators, including Republican George Maziarz. According to public
filings and bank records subpoenaed by the Moreland Commission, the Maziarz
campaign failed to report more than $325,000 in expenditures since 2008,
including more than 300 checks made out to "cash" with no indication
of who ultimately received the money. In addition, sources close to the
investigation say that the Maziarz campaign made significant
expenditures directly to staff members and their families. The Senator's
chief of staff, Alisa Colatarci, reportedly received $91,378 through 219
payments. Bharara's investigation became public following subpoenas issued to
Colatarci and Maziarz's former office manager, Marcus Hall, both of whom
resigned last week prior to the subpoenas being issued. Colatarci's attorney, Daniel
French, issued a statement emphasizing that she is not a target of this
investigation, and that she will continue to cooperate fully with prosecutors. In
a statement
made last week, Maziarz announced that he would not be seeking reelection
this fall.
Democrats Challenge Petition Seeking Spot in
Gubernatorial Primary
Represented
by prominent election lawyer Martin Connor, two New York Democrats challenged
the validity of Zephyr Teachout's petition to secure a place on the Democratic
gubernatorial primary this
week. The objections filed in court question the petition signatures
Teachout collected as well as her status as a New York resident. Under New York
election law, Teachout's petition to force a primary against incumbent Governor
Andrew Cuomo must include at least 15,000 signatures from registered Democrats,
and she must have been a continuous resident of the state for at least the past
five years leading up to the election. Although Teachout received more than three
times the required number of signatures, Connor and his clients argue that
there was high potential for error since signatures were collected at public
rallies and street fairs by inexperienced volunteers. Regarding the residency
challenge, Connor claims Teachout has maintained elements of her previous Vermont
residency, including drivers licenses and an address listed on a 2012
donation to the Obama Campaign. Despite these challenges, Teachout maintains
that she has more than the requisite number of signatures and that her
residency in New York has been uninterrupted since she accepted a tenure-track position
at Fordham University Law School in 2009.
