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.

For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags #moNeYpolitics and #fairelex.

NEW YORK

Small Donors Drove Teachout Campaign

Campaign finance disclosures filed with the New York Board of Elections this week show that Zephyr Teachout relied heavily on small donations – contributions of $100 or less – to finance her primary challenge against Governor Cuomo in the final weeks leading up to the election. Teachout also spent significantly less than Cuomo over the course of the campaign, but the money she did spend was relatively more effective. As The Washington Post reports, Teachout spent just $1.57 per vote, while Cuomo spent $42.64 for each vote he received. Although she did not win the primary election, Teachout’s surprisingly strong showing was noteworthy because it demonstrates that a candidate can reach voters while focusing on small donors.

Political Corruption Not Unique to Albany, FBI Director Says

On a recent visit to his agency’s Albany field office, FBI Director James Comey said he doesn’t believe that official misconduct is a bigger problem in New York than in other states. The fact that the FBI is doing “lots of public corruption work” in “lots of state capitals,” he continued, shows ethics issues are not unique to Albany. On the other hand, State Integrity Investigation’s corruption risk rankings place New York among the worst states in the country. Certain candidates, like Anndrea Starzak who is challenging Senator Thomas Libous for his seat in the 52nd Senate District, are making public corruption a centerpiece of their campaign platforms. Starzak has campaigned on ethics reform, noting that Albany has seen 26 State legislators leave office due to criminal or ethical misconduct since 1999.

TV Ad Spending Floods New York Airwaves

A study conducted by the Center for Public Integrity and Kantar Media/CMAG estimates that candidates running for statewide office have spent $14.5 million in political ads so far this year. The vast majority of that money has been spent on the race for governor, and most of it by Andrew Cuomo. Despite the high level of spending already recorded this cycle, Cuomo reportedly still has $26 million on hand for the general election against Rob Astorino, which is more than the total he spent during his entire 2010 campaign. If past elections are any indication of what is to come, ad spending will spike just before the election in November, meaning that New Yorkers can anticipate even more political ads than normal this fall on TV as well as radio.

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.

For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags #moNeYpolitics and #fairelex.

NEW YORK

Despite Federal Indictments, State Senators Win Primaries

Three New York Senators – Thomas Libous, John Sampson, and Malcolm Smith – entered the primary election on Tuesday facing federal criminal charges. Despite these legal troubles, both Libous and Sampson managed to win their races by safe margins – 28 points and 25 points respectively. Smith, on the other hand, lost by more than 50 percentage points in a landslide. While it remains to be seen whether Libous and Sampson will win in the general election this November, the primary this week showed that the presence of pending criminal charges can be is not necessarily a death knell for New York legislators seeking reelection. Gubernatorial hopeful Zephyr Teachout made Albany corruption a primary campaign issue and garnered 34 percent of the vote, the highest of any primary challenge to a sitting governor since primaries were instituted in 1970.

Consultants Avoid Regulation as Lobbyists

New York politics is starting to see the emergence of a new group of political actors: non-lobbyist strategic consultants. These consultants function like lobbyists in terms of access and ties to politicians, but they are able to avoid registering as official lobbyists. Their unofficial status allows them to avoid disclosure requirements, as long as they do not “attempt to influence politicians.” While this practice technically falls within the law, it raises suspicions because of the inherent influence strategic consultants can possess. Jennifer Cunningham, for example, worked closely with Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Governor Andrew Cuomo throughout her political career, helping to get them both elected in 2010. After they were elected, Ms. Cunningham deregistered as a lobbyist to “avoid even the appearance of a conflict” of interest and resigned her job at a top lobbying firm. In the role as a strategic consultant, which she has kept since 2010, however, Cunningham has continued to represent clients before the state government, working closely with Schneiderman on a consistent basis. So close, in fact, that the Attorney General’s office initially refused an open records request to provide communications between Schneiderman and Cunningham, claiming that the conversations fell under an exception for “intra-agency records” between state employees.

JCOPE Holds First-Ever Hearings

For the first time in its 20-month history, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics held a hearing to discuss specific allegations of lobbying law violations. While JCOPE has engaged in enforcement actions previously, none had ever proceeded far enough to reach a hearing. The hearing officer, former federal Judge George Pratt, recommended that the three entities found in violation of disclosure requirements – Blackboard, Inc., Community Redemption Center, and YL Management, L.L.C. – each receive fines between $4,000 and $10,000. 

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.

For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags #moNeYpolitics and #fairelex.

NEW YORK

Small Donations Fueled ‘Wide-Open’ Elections Last Year
A report by the New York City Campaign Finance Board shows that the city’s 2013 elections were “the most wide-open” since the city’s small-donor matching system was put in place 25 years ago. The report, “By the People: The New York City Campaign Finance Program in the 2013 Elections,” shows, among other things, that: the number of candidates participating in the public-funding system in 2013 remained high; more than two-thirds of all New York City contributors gave $175 or less; and more than 90 percent of the total raised came from individual contributors, rather than from PACs or unions. While the level of outside expenditures in 2013 was also high, the CFB says that its disclosure requirements – which were recently tightened further – reduced the influence of dark money in the city elections. The CFB report demonstrates the benefits of a public matching system for small donors, supporting the view that the New York City system could be a valid model for the rest of the nation.

Roundup of Public Corruption Cases

• State Senator Thomas Libous and his attorney appeared before a U.S. District Court judge on Wednesday to discuss which motions the defense is planning to file. Libous was indicted on July 1; he’s charged with lying to federal investigators regarding allegations that he had improperly helped his son obtain a position with a politically connected law firm in Westchester County. 

• Diana Durand, the ex-girlfriend of Staten Island Congressman Michael Grimm, pled guilty to making illegal contributions to Grimm’s campaign. Her lawyer insisted she is not cooperating with the federal investigation into the congressman, whose trial on fraud and tax charges is scheduled for December. 

• U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has been going after the pensions of politicians convicted of corruption-related offenses. He obtained forfeiture orders against former New York City Councilman Miguel Martinez and Assembly Member Eric Stevenson and is seeking to have the money paid out of pension benefits.

State Board of Elections Enforcement Unit Starts Work

The enforcement unit created by legislation passed through the budget is now open for business. The unit was part of a package of reforms that Governor Cuomo pushed in exchange for shutting down the anti-corruption Moreland Commission. The new unit is headed by former Cuomo aide Risa Sugarman and will be housed in the Board of Elections but physically walled off from the rest of the agency. Reformers agree that improved campaign finance enforcement is necessary at the state level, but many had called for more sweeping changes including public financing of elections.