Friday, July 25, 2014

Money in New York Politics

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.


Friday, July 11, 2014

Money in New York Politics

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

State Sen. Libous Facing Charges of Lying to Prosecutors
New York State Senator Thomas Libous, a 13-term incumbent representing Binghamton, was arraigned in federal court last Tuesday for allegedly making false statements to the FBI. Federal prosecutors claim that Libous lied about using his influence as a state senator to boost his son’s salary at a Westchester law firm. Libous and his son, Matthew, have pleaded not guilty to the charges. The indictment states that the elder Libous arranged for an Albany lobbying firm to pay $50,000 to the law firm where his son was employed, in order to inflate his son’s salary. He “took advantage of his position as senator and chairman of the Transportation Committee by corruptly causing lobbyists, who wanted Libous’ influence to benefit their clients, to funnel money through a law firm to his son,” Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara explained. When questioned by prosecutors regarding these charges, Libous denied involvement in any deal between the lobbying firm and the law firm, according to the indictment. Matthew Libous is being simultaneously accused of tax evasion. If the senator is convicted, it would increase the number of Albany legislators that have been forced out of office due to misconduct since 2000 to 27.

Real Estate Interests Seek to Boost Republicans in November Elections
Following the collapse of the power-sharing coalition in the New York State Senate last week, conservative interest groups are combining their efforts with New York real estate developers to win additional seats and maintain Republican influence in the state legislature. The Republican State Leadership Committee and its affiliated 501(c)(4), the State Government Leadership Foundation, have made significant donations to New York political groups, including $10,000 to the Balance New York super PAC, most of whose funds in turn come from the Rent Stabilization Association PAC and the Neighborhood Preservation Political Action Fund. The Rent Stabilization Association PAC, composed of owners of the city’s rent stabilized buildings, has been actively contributing to incumbent Republican Senators including Andrew Lanza in Staten Island and Jack Martins in Long Island, who are facing Democratic challengers this November. More information regarding contributions and expenditures in the state races will be available following the state Board of Election’s July 15th filing deadline.

Teachout Gathers Signatures to Challenge Gov. Cuomo in Primary
Zephyr Teachout, the Fordham Law professor hoping to challenge Governor Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary, informed the press this week that her campaign has the necessary signatures to appear on the ballot. Thus far Teachout says she has gathered more than 45,000 signatures from registered Democrats. Although only 15,000 signatures are required to be placed on the ballot, the campaign expects the governor to legally challenge the validity of some signatures. Teachout has been actively seeking support from local Democratic clubs in New York City. She has centered her campaign on concerns regarding rising income inequality and corruption in the state capital. “I would love to be the governor of New York” she told a crowd of likely primary voters. “But I would also like to get this governor of ours … [to] actually listen to the deep, very heartfelt concerns of the Democrats of this state.”