tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-290103402024-03-05T01:26:39.607-05:00ReformNYThe Brennan Center Blog on New YorkBrennanCenterhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09417355176368047275noreply@blogger.comBlogger963125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-29151775319094345762014-11-10T17:38:00.000-05:002014-11-10T17:50:42.305-05:00Money in New York Politics<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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.<br />
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<span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">For more stories on an ong</span><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">oing basis, follow the Tw</span><span style="line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">itter hashtags</span><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash" style="color: #cc0000; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; text-decoration: none;">#moNeYpolitics</a><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;"> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd" style="color: #cc0000; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; text-decoration: none;">#fairelex</a><span style="color: #333333; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">.</span></div>
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px;">NEW YORK</b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Indictments Not an Issue for New York
Politicians Seeking Re-Election<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/4-indicted-ny-pols-win-reelection-112572.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Four</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> New York politicians
were re-elected on Tuesday despite facing federal indictments.</span></div>
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<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Congressman
Michael Grimm </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/05/nyregion/michael-grimm-defeats-domenic-recchia-in-new-yorks-11th-congressional-district.html?_r=0" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">won re-election</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> to his Staten
Island-based House seat despite facing a 20-count federal indictment for
various offenses.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">State
Senator Tom Libous was re-elected with </span><a href="http://nyenr.elections.state.ny.us/home.aspx" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">60 percent</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> of the vote in the 52<sup>nd </sup>Senate district. Libous still faces a trial on charges of lying to federal
investigators, but he is attempting to have the charges </span><a href="http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/politics-on-the-hudson/2014/11/06/sen-tom-libous-wants-his-indictment-tossed/18594897/" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">thrown out</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> on technical grounds.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">State
Senator John Sampson of Brooklyn was </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/24/nyregion/in-senators-case-defining-embezzlement.html" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">charged this summer</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> with embezzling
hundreds of thousands of dollars, but still won his primary and general
elections by very comfortable margins.</span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">State
Senator William Scarborough ran uncontested on Tuesday. He was </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/02/nyregion/assemblyman-from-queens-is-arrested.html" style="text-indent: -0.25in;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">charged and arrested</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> this summer for
improper use of campaign funds.</span></li>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Post-Moreland Reforms Unsuccessful</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The <i>New York World </i>in partnership with <i>Capital New York </i>published an </span><a href="http://www.thenewyorkworld.com/2014/10/24/cuomos-post-moreland-reforms-far-bust/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">assessment</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> of the reforms that
Governor Cuomo secured in exchange for shuttering the Moreland Commission
earlier this year. These reforms included a pilot program to test public
financing, new disclosure rules, and a new office of enforcement at the State
Board of Elections. Overall, the article claims, these reforms have been a
bust. New York Comptroller, Democrat Tom DeNapoli, opted out of the pilot
public financing system, citing the program’s structural flaws. His opponent,
Republican Bob Antonacci, did participate in the program, but was </span><a href="http://wrvo.org/post/antonacci-fails-publicly-financed-campaign-bid-has-no-regrets"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">unable to raise</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> the requisite $200,000
in matchable contributions to qualify for the public funds. Increased
disclosure for outside spending, while necessary, was not a profound reform because
New York’s </span><a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/for-sale-one-government/29266/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">unusually high contribution
limits</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> </span></span><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="color: windowtext; font-family: Georgia, serif;">allow big spenders
to make direct campaign contributions instead</span></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">. Finally, the
independent enforcement office at the Board of Elections took little action
this election cycle and proved to </span><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/head-unit-investigating-state-election-law-violations-cuomo-office-loop-article-1.1958907"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">be less independent</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> than planned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Poll: Small Businesses Support Public Financing<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">A recent <a href="http://www.smallbusinessmajority.org/small-business-research/downloads/103014-election-reform-poll-report.pdf">national
poll</a> conducted by Small Business Majority shows that 85 percent of small
business owners support public financing of elections. The results also show
that small employers feel that their voices are drowned out by large
corporations, giving big business an unfair advantage in the political process.
The poll reflects survey responses from 900 small business owners, with 48
identifying as Republican or independent-leaning Republican, 32 percent as
Democrat or independent-leaning Democrat, and 11 percent as independent. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">IDC Senators Want to Remain with Republicans</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">State
Senator Jeff Klein, leader of the Independent Democratic Conference, announced last
week that the he wants the IDC to </span><a href="http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/11/klein-on-idc-coaliton-i-hope-that-continues/"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">remain aligned</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> with the Republican
majority, despite </span><a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/06/8547954/klein-co-lead-senate-democrats"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">promises</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> earlier this summer to form
a coalition with the other Democrats in the chamber. The deal struck this
summer helped to appease the Working Families Party and major labor unions,
allowing Klein and the rest of the IDC senators to avoid difficult primary
challenges from the left. But while the IDC Senators won reelection, other
Democratic candidates were less successful, leading to Republicans taking 32
seats and maintaining control of the state Senate. The Senate GOP leader, Dean
Skelos, </span><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/senate-gop-leader-dean-skelos-democratic-message-bill-de-blasio-state-blog-entry-1.2000312"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">would not confirm</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> whether he would
welcome a new coalition with the IDC.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08444300054772462011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-71350883161607804372014-10-24T11:35:00.001-04:002014-11-10T17:41:05.332-05:00Money in New York Politics<div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; line-height: 20.7999992370605px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
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.<br />
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For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash" style="text-decoration: none;">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd" style="text-decoration: none;">#fairelex</a>.<br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">City Board of Elections Creates Another Poorly
Designed Ballot</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The New
York City Board of Elections has come under scrutiny in recent years for designing
confusing ballots that led to <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/publication/design-deficiencies-and-lost-votes">tens of thousands of
votes</a> being
thrown out as invalid. It appears that 2014 could be no different. One of the <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/better-design-fewer-lost-votes">recurring issues</a> with the Board’s
ballots has been that candidates for the same races are split onto multiple
lines. Splitting contests, which this year’s ballot does, can cause voters to accidentally
choose more than one candidate when completing their ballot. Another troubling
design feature of this year’s ballot is that it <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/poor-ballot-design-hurts-new-yorks-minor-parties-again">favors the major parties</a><span class="MsoHyperlink">,
while discriminating against the minor parties</span>. Voters who support the
Democrats or Republicans will find the ballot very straightforward, because Democratic
and Republican candidates are aligned separately from the minor party
candidates. Minor party voters, on the other hand, will have to search through
the confusing cluster of other candidates to find their choice. The Brennan
Center for Justice, a consistent advocate for ballot improvement, sent <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/analysis/Letter_to_NYC_BOE_102314.pdf">a letter</a> to the New York City
Board of Elections this week detailing how the design flaws harm minor
political parties, and urging the Board to take action to address these issues.</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08444300054772462011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-78194992449328036882014-09-26T10:51:00.002-04:002014-09-26T10:52:08.071-04:00Money in New York Politics<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">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.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">For more
stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a>
and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">NEW YORK</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Small Donors Drove Teachout Campaign<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Campaign </span><a href="http://www.elections.ny.gov:8080/reports/rwservlet?cmdkey=efs_sch_report+p_filer_id=A19932+p_e_year=2014+p_freport_id=C+p_transaction_code=A"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">finance disclosures</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> filed with the New York
Board of Elections this week show that Zephyr Teachout </span><a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/09/8553027/how-teachout-and-wu-spent-against-cuomo"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">relied heavily</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> 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 </span><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2014/09/10/andrew-cuomo-spent-almost-40-times-as-much-for-his-votes-as-zephyr-teachout/"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">The Washington Post</span></i></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> 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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Political Corruption Not Unique to Albany, FBI Director
Says<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">On a
recent visit to his agency’s Albany field office, FBI Director James Comey </span><a href="http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/For-Albany-not-standing-out-is-good-5776291.php"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">said</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> 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 </span><a href="http://www.stateintegrity.org/new_york"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">corruption risk rankings</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> place New York among
the worst states in the country. Certain candidates, like </span><a href="http://www.wbng.com/home/Starzak-calls-for-renewed-efforts-for-government-ethics-reform--274950791.html"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">Anndrea Starzak</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> 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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">TV Ad Spending Floods New York Airwaves<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">A study
conducted by the Center for Public Integrity and Kantar Media/CMAG estimates that
candidates running for statewide office have spent </span><a href="http://www.publicintegrity.org/who-calls-shots/new-york"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">$14.5 million</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> 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 </span><a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/APedf9e79089824791891111e3cdf7dd27.html?mod=WSJ_NY_LEFTAPHeadlines"><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;">reportedly</span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif;"> 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.<b style="font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08444300054772462011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-45382907076307907482014-09-12T11:34:00.000-04:002014-09-12T12:01:59.415-04:00Money in New York Politics<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">
For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a><span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NEW YORK</span></b><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Despite Federal Indictments, State Senators Win
Primaries</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Three New
York Senators – Thomas Libous, John Sampson, and Malcolm Smith – entered the
primary election on Tuesday <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/04/nyregion/indictments-no-obstacle-to-seeking-re-election.html?_r=0">facing
federal criminal charges</a>. Despite these legal troubles, both Libous and
Sampson managed to win their races by safe margins – <a href="http://elections.nytimes.com/2014/results/primaries/new-york-state">28
points</a> and <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/09/8552126/sampson-defeats-smitherman-brooklyn-senate-primary">25
points</a> respectively. Smith, on the other hand, lost by more than <a href="http://www.timesledger.com/stories/2014/37/smith_web_2014_09_09_q.html">50
percentage points</a> 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 <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/cuomo-counting-victory-teachout-surprise-democratic-primary-ends-article-1.1933632">primary
campaign issue</a> and garnered 34 percent of the vote, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/10/nyregion/cuomo-and-hochul-win-new-york-primary.html?module=Search&mabReward=relbias%3Ar%2C%7b%221%22%3A%22RI%3A7%22%7d">highest</a>
of any primary challenge to a sitting governor since primaries were instituted
in 1970.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Consultants Avoid Regulation as Lobbyists<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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 “<a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140907/POLITICS/140909888/just-dont-call-these-consultants-lobbyists">attempt
to influence politicians</a>.” 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 “<a href="http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/top-lobbyist-leaves-business-to-avoid-conflicts/">avoid
even the appearance of a conflict</a>” 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. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">JCOPE Holds First-Ever Hearings</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For the
first time in its 20-month history, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics </span><a href="http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Fines-result-of-1st-hearing-5747049.php">held
a hearing</a> 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. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08444300054772462011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-67125267720180942872014-09-05T15:17:00.001-04:002014-09-05T15:18:54.177-04:00Money in New York Politics<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NEW YORK</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Small Donations Fueled ‘Wide-Open’ Elections Last Year</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A report by the New York City Campaign Finance Board shows that the city’s 2013 elections were “<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/02/nyregion/small-donations-fueled-most-wide-open-mayoral-race-last-year-board-says.html?smid=tw-share&_r=2">the most wide-open</a>” since the city’s small-donor matching system was put in place 25 years ago. The report, “<a href="http://www.nyccfb.info/press/news/per-2013.htm">By the People: The New York City Campaign Finance Program in the 2013 Elections</a>,” 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 <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/08/8551126/bill-seeks-more-disclosure-certain-campaign-spending">recently tightened</a> 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.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Roundup of Public Corruption Cases</b></span><br />
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">State Senator Thomas Libous and his attorney appeared before a U.S. District Court judge on <a href="http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/2014/09/03/conference-senator-libous-case/15045649/">Wednesday </a>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. </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Diana Durand, the ex-girlfriend of Staten Island Congressman Michael Grimm, <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/michael-grimm-ex-gal-pal-pleads-guilty-article-1.1926609?cid=bitly">pled guilty</a> 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 <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/trial-indicted-rep-michael-grimm-set-november-election-article-1.1924959">scheduled </a>for December. </span></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara has been going after the <a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/219484/u-s-attorney-pushes-two-corrupt-pols-to-lose-pension-dollars/">pensions </a>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.</span></li>
</ul>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">State Board of Elections Enforcement Unit Starts Work</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-investigation-unit-ready-enforce-board-election-law-article-1.1923399">enforcement unit</a> 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 <a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/209720/cuomo-moreland-panel-will-shut-down/">shutting down the anti-corruption Moreland Commission</a>. 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.</span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08444300054772462011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-54471803779231214902014-08-22T15:45:00.001-04:002014-08-22T15:47:47.588-04:00Money in New York Politics<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NEW YORK</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>The Real Moreland Takeaway</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SUNY New Paltz dean and state government expert Gerald Benjamin and former New York City corporation counsel Fritz Schwarz wrote an <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/real-moreland-takeaway-article-1.1905376">op-ed</a> in the <i>Daily News</i> this week to emphasize the need for public financing at the state level. The attention surrounding Governor Cuomo’s handling of the Moreland Commission is “an easy distraction,” they write, that “takes our attention off of where it should really be focused…the commission’s crucial recommendations for campaign finance.” When adopted, they argue, these reforms will curb the corrosive power of big money in Albany and strengthen the influence of average voters. Schwarz and Benjamin also wrote a <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/brennan-center-strategic-fund-letter-ny-state-candidates">letter</a>, which is joined by more than 20 other prominent New Yorkers, urging candidates for the New York State legislature to make public financing a top priority next year. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>New City Law Requires More Disclosure for Campaign Spending</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The New York City Council unanimously approved a new campaign spending <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/council-committee-passes-legislation-banning-anonymous-campaign-ads-blog-entry-1.1910217">disclosure law</a> this week. Under the new law, any independent expenditure group that spends in excess of $5,000 will be required to list their top three donors on any literature or advertisements they distribute to voters. They would also have to provide additional disclosure information that would be available publicly on the New York Campaign Finance Board’s <a href="http://www.nyccfb.info/">website</a>. Councilman Brad Lander, the bill’s primary sponsor, has repeatedly called out groups that do not disclosure their donors and argues that this law will “enable voters to see who’s behind the ads they’re getting.” After the bill passed easily through the City Council, a spokesperson for <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2014/08/8551126/bill-seeks-more-disclosure-certain-campaign-spending">Mayor de Blasio</a> said he will not hesitate to sign it into law.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Appellate Court Denies Cuomo’s Teachout Challenge</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a unanimous vote, a New York state <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/08/8551094/appellate-court-denies-cuomos-teachout-challenge">appellate court</a> rejected the residency challenge against Zephyr Teachout’s campaign, affirming the <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/08/8550525/judge-throws-out-cuomo-challenge-teachout">lower court’s</a> decision. The appellate court ruled that the burden fell on the challengers to provide “clear and convincing evidence” that Teachout does not to meet the residency requirements – a burden that they failed to meet. Following the decision, Teachout renewed her calls for a debate against Governor Cuomo, saying “we have very different visions for where we want to take the state…Democratic voters deserve a choice.” Time Warner Cable News has already <a href="http://albany.twcnews.com/content/news/762731/governor-cuomo-responds-to-request-for-twc-news-debate/">agreed to host</a> a debate between Cuomo and Teachout. When questioned whether he would agree to participate, however, the Governor said that he will “leave that to the campaigns to work out.” </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>N.Y. poll: Government Corruption a Problem</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.politico.com/story/2014/08/poll-andrew-cuomo-lead-110179.html?hp=l9">Another poll</a> was released this week showing that 83 percent New Yorkers view corruption as a serious problem in the state government. Although Cuomo is still the heavy favorite to win reelection this fall, 48 percent of New York voters now see him as part of the problem compared to 41 percent who see him as part of the solution. The latest poll by <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/search-releases/search-results/release-detail?ReleaseID=2071&What=&strArea=2;&strTime=0">Quinnipiac University</a> is the third such survey conducted since news of Governor Cuomo’s handling of the Moreland Commission emerged earlier this summer. The results indicate that New Yorkers have become increasingly aware of the Moreland Commission, and nearly half of the respondents in the new poll said that they were in favor of the <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/08/8551066/poll-moreland-awareness-grows-trust-cuomo-dips">ongoing federal prosecutions</a> as a way to finish what the commission started. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>New Yorker</i>’s Deep Dive into Campaign Finance and Corruption</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This week, the <a href="http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2014/08/25/crooked-dead"><i>New Yorker</i></a> published an examination of the corrupting influence of money in politics. While the piece provides an interesting historical perspective of money in politics nationally, it focuses particular attention on the Empire State, which it calls “corruption’s proving ground.” The piece also highlights the anti-corruption research and advocacy conducted by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Zephyr Teachout, calling her campaign less of a campaign for office and more of a campaign for reform.</span><br />
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08444300054772462011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-14886100259791191202014-08-15T12:10:00.000-04:002014-08-21T17:49:49.761-04:00Money in New York Politics<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.799999237060547px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; line-height: 20.799999237060547px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash" style="text-decoration: none;">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd" style="text-decoration: none;">#fairelex</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NEW YORK</b></span><br />
<b><span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></b><b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Despite Criticism, Cuomo Holds Wide Lead Over Challenger, Poll Finds</span></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">A </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/12/nyregion/despite-criticism-cuomo-holds-wide-lead-over-republican-challenger-poll-finds.html?ref=nyregion&_r=0"><span style="font-weight: normal;">recent poll</span></a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> conducted by
Siena College shows that although a large majority of New York voters believe
Governor Andrew Cuomo’s handling of the Moreland Commission was inappropriate,
they still view him favorably and would vote to re-elect him. The poll was
conducted from August 4 to August 7 in the wake of renewed </span><a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/federal-investigation-looks-at-cuomo-and-moreland-commission-referrals-1407459680"><span style="font-weight: normal;">federal investigations</span></a><span style="font-weight: normal;"> and widespread
criticisms of how the Moreland Commission was abruptly ended. Despite an
overwhelming feeling among participants that corruption is still a major
problem in the New York State government and general disagreement with Governor
Cuomo’s claim that the Moreland Commission was successful, 58 percent of voters
said they would vote to re-elect him. These results imply that the<i> New York Times</i>
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/nyregion/governor-andrew-cuomo-and-the-short-life-of-the-moreland-commission.html?_r=0">article</a>
detailing ways the governor’s office tried to control the commission and the
ongoing federal investigation have not caused serious damage to the governor’s
campaign heading into election season.</span></span><br />
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></b>
<b><span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Cuomo Ignores Calls for Debates</span></span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;">So far this election cycle, Governor Andrew
Cuomo has ignored repeated calls for a debate from </span><a href="http://www.newsday.com/long-island/politics/andrew-cuomo-so-far-has-ignored-rob-astorino-s-calls-for-debates-1.9020335"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;">GOP candidate Rob Astorino</span></a><span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"> on the right and Democratic
primary </span><a href="http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2014/8/12/teachout-celebrates-court-victory-over-cuomo-brooklyn-pushes-debate"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;">challenger Zephyr Teachout</span></a><span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"> on the left. Cuomo campaign
officials have responded only by pointing out that debate negotiations
typically commence in September, thereby eliminating the chances of a
Democratic primary debate. A debate between Cuomo and Astorino, on the other
hand, remains possible, but Astorino insists they face each other one-on-one. While
debates with many candidates allows for more voices to be heard, it also “works
for the incumbent” says Lee Miringoff of the Marist Poll in Poughkeepsie. Some
doubt that debates would have much effect on the election, given Cuomo’s huge </span><a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/albany-politics/cuomos-35-million-campaign-account-leaves-astorino-far-behind-20140715"><span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;">campaign funds advantage</span></a><span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"> over Astorino and the fact
that Cuomo leads by more than 30 points in the polls. Still, good government
groups, academics, and many others maintain that debates serve a vital role in
elections, giving voters the opportunity to become better informed about the
candidates.</span> <span style="letter-spacing: -0.35pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 20.799999237060547px;">Judge Rules Teachout</span><span class="MsoHyperlink" style="line-height: 20.799999237060547px;"> Can Stay on Ballot</span></b><span style="font-weight: normal;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On Monday,
a New York judge <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/08/8550525/judge-throws-out-cuomo-challenge-teachout">threw out</a> the residency challenge
brought against Zephyr Teachout's candidacy for governor following a two-day
trial in Brooklyn last week. During the trial, election lawyer Marty Connors
argued that Teachout has not been a continuous resident of New York for the
past five years – a minimum requirement to be governor – because she spent a
significant portion of her time out of state and maintained a Vermont address
on her driver’s license. Despite these claims, Justice Edgar G. Walker ruled
that Teachout has demonstrated “sufficient intent” to reside in New York and
dismissed the challenge. In a statement earlier this week, Connors made clear
his intention to appeal the decision, <a href="http://observer.com/2014/08/cuomo-camp-fails-to-knock-teachout-from-ballot/">saying</a>
that “Ms. Teachout admitted under oath that she misrepresented her address on
official and tax documents.” The appeal will be heard on August 19. </span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08444300054772462011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-87603325536299193982014-07-25T11:46:00.000-04:002014-07-25T11:47:21.902-04:00Money in New York Politics<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the
Twitter hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">New York Times Investigation Sheds Light on Moreland
Commission’s Operations<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">According to an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/23/nyregion/governor-andrew-cuomo-and-the-short-life-of-the-moreland-commission.html">extensive investigation by
the <i>New York Times</i></a>, 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 <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2014/07/23/nyregion/23moreland-governor-response.html">statement</a> contesting the characterization of events by the <i>Times</i>, arguing that since the commission
was created by and reported to Cuomo, he could not “interfere” with it. Federal
prosecutors are <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/18/nyregion/subpoena-for-testimony-on-anticorruption-commission-shut-by-cuomo.html">investigating</a>
the governor’s decision to shut down with commission. Before it was shuttered,
the Moreland Commission <a href="http://publiccorruption.moreland.ny.gov/sites/default/files/moreland_report_final.pdf">recommended</a>
public campaign financing and other campaign finance fixes to address Albany’s
culture of corruption, but the legislative session ended without meaningful
reform.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Feds Probe Campaign Expenses of NY Sen. George Maziarz</b></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Feds-probe-campaign-expenses-of-N-Y-Sen-George-5629728.php">A
federal investigation</a>, 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 <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/politics/press-reports-reveal-mishandling-of-maziarz-campaign-funds-20140718">significant
expenditures</a> 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 <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Maziarz-to-forgo-re-election-5619136.php">statement
made last week</a>, Maziarz announced that he would not be seeking reelection
this fall. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Democrats Challenge Petition Seeking Spot in
Gubernatorial Primary<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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 <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/albany-politics/democrats-challenge-petition-seeking-spot-in-gubernatorial-primary-20140721">this
week</a>. 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 <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/07/8549469/cuomo-now-challenging-teachouts-residency">Vermont
residency</a>, 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.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08444300054772462011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-53958920703891913852014-07-11T17:45:00.000-04:002014-07-11T17:45:31.112-04:00Money in New York Politics<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="color: #191f39;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #191f39;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow
the Twitter hashtags </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a><span style="color: #191f39;"> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a><span style="color: #191f39;">.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><span style="color: #191f39;">NEW YORK</span></b><span style="color: #191f39;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #191f39;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">State Sen. Libous Facing Charges of Lying to Prosecutors<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #191f39;">New York State Senator Thomas Libous, a
13-term incumbent representing Binghamton, was </span><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/state-senator-libous-indicted-charges-lying-fbi-article-1.1850787">arraigned in federal court</a><span style="color: #191f39;"> 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 </span><a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/new-york-state-senator-thomas-libous-indicted-in-federal-court-along-with-his-son-matthew-1404230679">arranged for an Albany lobbying
firm</a><span style="color: #191f39;"> 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 </span><a href="http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/local/new-york/2014/07/08/libous-vows-fight-charges-run-re-election/12386085/">accused of tax evasion</a><span style="color: #191f39;">. 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. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #191f39;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Real Estate Interests Seek to Boost Republicans in November
Elections<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #191f39;">Following the </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/nyregion/breakaway-faction-to-rejoin-fellow-democrats-in-new-york-senate.html?_r=0&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=N.Y.%20%2F%20Region&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article">collapse of the power-sharing
coalition</a><span style="color: #191f39;"> in the New York State Senate
last week, conservative interest groups are combining their efforts with New
York real estate developers to </span><a href="http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2014/07/rslc-goes-in-with-developers-to-turn-tide-in-ny-state-senate/">win additional seats and
maintain Republican influence</a><span style="color: #191f39;"> 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 </span><a href="http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/03/staten_island_democrats_select.html">Andrew Lanza in Staten Island</a><span style="color: #191f39;"> and </span><a href="http://www.theislandnow.com/great_neck/news/haber-blasts-martins-on-women-s-bill/article_eca54cc2-f245-11e3-99b5-001a4bcf887a.html">Jack Martins in Long Island</a><span style="color: #191f39;">, 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 15<sup>th</sup> filing
deadline. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="color: #191f39;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Teachout Gathers Signatures to Challenge Gov. Cuomo in Primary<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #191f39;">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 </span><a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/25387/20140710/zephyr-teachout-cuomo-primary-challenger-will-file-petitions-thurs-night">necessary signatures</a><span style="color: #191f39;"> to appear on the ballot. Thus far Teachout says she has
gathered more than <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/zephyr-teachout-plans-submit-45-000-petition-signatures-blog-entry-1.1862348">45,000
signatures</a> 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 </span><a href="http://thevillager.com/2014/07/10/zephyr-teachout-blows-into-primary-pressuring-gov-cuomo-on-his-left/">seeking support</a><span style="color: #191f39;"> 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.”</span></span></div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08444300054772462011noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-83221714079694504462014-06-26T15:48:00.000-04:002014-06-26T15:48:59.002-04:00Money in New York Politics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more
stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Senate Coalition Disintegrates <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As the
legislative session came to a close last week, <a href="http://observer.com/2014/06/governor-cuomo-couldnt-be-happier-despite-campaign-finance-failure/">comprehensive campaign
finance reform remained stalled</a>. Opposition to reform was led by Republicans in
the state Senate. This week, the breakaway Democrats who had formed a coalition
with Republicans to control the Senate <a href="http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/2014/06/25/ny-senate-coalition-topples-idc-rejoin-democrats/11377541/">announced</a>
plans to abandon the arrangement. The leader of the Independent Democratic
Conference, Sen. Jeffrey Klein, said the IDC would form a coalition with
Democrats next year. The change is expected to have implications for public
campaign financing and other reforms left on the table at the end of this year’s
session. Governor Cuomo has <a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140620/BLOGS04/140629994/senate-coalition-still-a-failure-to-cuomo">renewed his pledge</a> to “work to elect
people who support” the progressive agenda this election season. Whether the
planned Democrat-IDC coalition has a <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/06/8547954/klein-co-lead-senate-democrats">majority</a>
in the chamber next year will depend on the outcome of the November elections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Governor Cuomo Has Raised Millions through the
LLC Loophole <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the
three and a half years since his election in 2010, Governor Andrew Cuomo <a href="http://www.propublica.org/article/cuomo-has-raised-millions-through-loophole-he-pledged-to-close">has collected</a> more than $6.2 million
in campaign funds—more any other New York politician—through a loophole that he
previously pledged to close. Under state regulations, limited liability
companies are <a href="http://www.wnyc.org/story/92116-llcs-and-llc-loophole/">considered individuals</a> and permitted to
contribute up to $150,000 per year to candidates and political parties.
However, since there is no limit on the number of LLCs a corporation or an
individual may create, it effectively allows unlimited campaign contributions.
In its <a href="http://publiccorruption.moreland.ny.gov/sites/default/files/moreland_report_final.pdf">preliminary report</a> released last December,
the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption recommended closing
the loophole due to “the appearance of a relationship between large donations
and legislation that specifically benefits large donors.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Outside Money Plays Big Role in New York
Congressional Primaries <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Federal
Election Commission filings compiled by the Sunlight Foundation demonstrate
that <a href="http://sunlightfoundation.com/blog/2014/06/20/hedge-fund-millionaires-fuel-new-york-super-pac/">outside groups were
actively spending money</a> in New York’s Congressional primary races. In the 21<sup>st</sup>
Congressional District in upstate New York, outside groups came to the rescue
of former Bush administration aide Elise Stefanik, in her primary battle
against investment fund manager Matt Doheny. American Crossroads, the Karl
Rove-linked super PAC, spent almost $800,000 on the race criticizing Doheny as <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ec38efSp41w">irresponsible</a> and a “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iya_r-RQJa8">perennial loser</a>.” Another group, <a href="http://realtime.influenceexplorer.com/committee/new-york-2014/C00563171/">New York 2014</a>, was formed just last
month and, despite its nondescript name, all of its $370,000 in expenditures
were in support of Stefanik. New York 2014 is <a href="http://realtime.influenceexplorer.com/filings/932495/SA/">funded by</a> five rich
out-of-district contributors, all with key roles at financial firms. The
biggest donor to New York 2014 is Kenneth Griffin, founder and CEO of hedge
fund Citadel LLC, who also recently made the <a href="http://politics.suntimes.com/article/chicago/billionaire-ken-griffin-gives-rauner-record-breaking-25-million/fri-06132014-403pm">largest single
contribution</a>
in the history of the state of Illinois. Stefanik emerged as the <a href="http://poststar.com/news/local/stefanik-wins-st-congressional-district-primary/article_ccaf2566-fc16-11e3-a4af-0019bb2963f4.html">victor</a> in this week’s primary,
and will go on to face Democrat Aaron Woolf in November. Outside groups were
also active in the <a href="http://realtime.influenceexplorer.com/outside-spending/#?ordering=-expenditure_date_formatted&district_checked=816">1<sup>st</sup>
Congressional district</a> Republican primary race between Lee Zeldin and George
Demos, where independent expenditures <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/races/indexp.php?cycle=2014&id=NY01&spec=N">hit $1.8 million</a>. Such groups are likely
to be a factor in the upcoming general election races as well. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Green Party Candidate to Challenge Cuomo,
Astorino<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Howie
Hawkins, the Green Party’s gubernatorial nominee, will <a href="http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/green-party-candidate-howie-hawkins-new-york-governor-i-can-win">compete against</a> Gov. Cuomo and
Republican nominee Rob Astorino in the general election. Fordham law professor
Zephyr Teachout, meanwhile, is collecting signatures to run against Cuomo in
the Democratic primary. She has criticized the governor over his failure to pass
campaign finance reform to address public corruption. An <a href="http://www2.siena.edu/uploadedfiles/home/parents_and_community/community_page/sri/sny_poll/SNY%20April%202014%20Poll%20Release%20--%20Final1.pdf">April Siena poll</a> showed that a left-leaning
challenger to Cuomo from the Working Families Party would garner 24 percent of
the vote and cut Cuomo’s lead by 19 percent. Although the WFP has already
endorsed Cuomo, Hawkins said that he is the “ticket that 24 % is looking for.” The
<a href="https://www.siena.edu/assets/files/news/SNY0614_Crosstabs.pdf">most recent Siena poll</a> however illustrated
that Hawkins would capture only 4 percent of the vote in a race with Cuomo and
Astorino. Nonetheless, Hawkins remains optimistic: “People have gone through
some different things and they’ve basically seen they’ve got to be independent
and speak for themselves, instead of attach themselves to the latest liberal
Democratic hope,” he stated.</span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-48621937881161610052014-06-20T14:30:00.001-04:002014-06-20T14:33:40.558-04:00Money in New York Politics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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 Syed Zaidi.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>The Daily Gazette</i></b><b>: New York’s 2014 Legislative Session a Failure<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The New York State
legislative session is ending this week without major progress on big-ticket
issues such as campaign finance reform, minimum wage, and the women’s equality
agenda. The <a href="http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2014/jun/16/616_EDITsession/"><i>Daily Gazette</i></a> called the session a “big flop.” The
upstate newspaper said that the failure to pass campaign finance reform would allow
big money to continue “to influence elections at the expense of worthy
candidates who don't have access to large donors.” Although the legislature had
several months to work to find solutions to these pressing concerns, they
largely failed to address them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Law
Professor Teachout Plans to Mount Primary Challenge to Gov. Cuomo<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Zephyr Teachout, a Fordham University law professor, is
collecting signatures <a href="http://blogs.wsj.com/metropolis/2014/06/16/gubernatorial-candidate-zephyr-teachout-embracing-underdog-status/">to
mount a Democratic primary challenge</a> to Governor Andrew Cuomo. Her decision
to run follows a contentious Working Families Party convention, where the third
party nominated Cuomo for their ballot line in this year’s gubernatorial
election. Teachout however, still garnered 41.3 percent of the vote at the
convention. Now, she needs at least 15,000 signatures by registered Democrats
to secure her name on the ballot. “Four years ago, Andrew Cuomo stood on the
steps of a courthouse named after Boss Tweed and promised to clean up
corruption in New York State. But he, as Gov. Cuomo, has become the problem
that candidate Cuomo promised to fix,” Teachout <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/upstart-candidate-zephyr-teachout-launches-campaign-attacks-gov-cuomo-blog-entry-1.1831750">told
the press</a>. She also <a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/214784/teachout-assails-cuomo-says-nyers-love-underdogs/">leveled
criticisms</a> against the governor’s economic and fiscal policies, and emphasized
the importance of reforming campaign finance to raise the voices of average
voters. “I believe in democracy, not donors,” she said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Mistrial
in Corruption Case Involving State Sen. Smith<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On Tuesday, Federal District Court Judge Kenneth M. Karas <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/18/nyregion/mistrial-declared-in-malcolm-smith-corruption-trial.html?_r=0">declared
a mistrial</a> in the corruption case involving New York State Senator Malcolm
Smith and former Vice Chairman of the Queens County Republican Committee
Vincent Tabone. Prosecutors had failed to provide the defense with recordings
of telephone calls and text messages from a government informer, Moses Stern,
which may have been relevant to the trial. Since more than 28 hours of the
conversations were in Yiddish, the defense asked the judge for more time to
translate and digest the recordings. Some of the jurors <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/judge-declares-mistrial-for-malcolm-smith-vincent-tabone-1.8475502">could
not serve</a> for this extended period of time, which would have pushed the
trial into mid-July. Defense attorneys for Smith and Tabone did not consent to
going forward with the trial with fewer jurors, leading Judge Karas to schedule
a new trial for January 5<sup>th</sup>, 2015. The trial of the third
defendant—former New York City
Councilman Daniel Halloran, who allegedly served as an intermediary for Smith’s
bribery schemes—will resume in a week. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-91531938423921333642014-06-12T17:23:00.000-04:002014-06-12T17:23:45.642-04:00Money in New York Politics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 20.799999237060547px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This week’s links were contributed by Syed Zaidi.</span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 20.799999237060547px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; line-height: 20.799999237060547px; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
</div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash" style="color: #378add; text-decoration: none;">#moNeYpolitics</a><span style="color: #333333;"> and </span><a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd" style="color: #378add; text-decoration: none;">#fairelex</a><span style="color: #333333;">.</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><br /></span></span>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Public Financing Trial Could Show Power
of Small Donors<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a guest column for the <a href="http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/06/we_have_a_ringside_seat_for_new_yorks_public_campaign_financing_experiment_david.html"><i>Post-Standard</i></a>,
David Rubin, a former dean at Syracuse University, wrote that the trial public
financing program for the state comptroller race presents an opportunity to
demonstrate the power of small donors. Although current New York State
Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli has declined to participate in public financing—citing
<a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/press-releases/Memo_Against_Comptroller_CF_033014.pdf">concerns</a> over the <a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/04/ny_comptroller_dinapoli_wont_use_new_public_financing_for_campaign.html">inadequate
structure</a> of the pilot program—his Republican
challenger Robert Antonacci has said that he will op-in. Donations up to $175 by
New Yorkers to Antonacci’s campaign will be matched with public funds at a
6-to-1 ratio, if he first qualifies by raising $200,000 including at least
2,000 small contributions. In return he will have to abide by spending limits
and a $6,000 per person contribution restriction. Non-participating candidates
running statewide, meanwhile, can accept up to $41,000 from a single donor. “Public
financing empowers local donors who can actually vote for the candidate. It
forces candidates to court us, one small donation at a time,” Rubin explained.
And until state legislators pass reforms that apply to all races in the state,
“we will get elected officials purchased for us by others, with the awful
results we see in Albany and Washington.”<span style="background: white; color: #363636;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Major Issues Unresolved for Final Week of NY Legislative Session<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white;">With just one week left in
the New York State legislative session, press outlets are predicting that few
big-ticket issues, such as public campaign financing, the women’s equality
agenda, medical marijuana or the Dream Act, </span><a href="http://www.oneidadispatch.com/general-news/20140609/albanys-year-ending-with-no-votes-on-key-ny-issues"><span style="background: white;">will
be resolved</span></a><span style="background: white;">. Although Governor Andrew
Cuomo has </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/01/nyregion/cuomo-secures-support-of-working-families-party.html"><span style="background: white;">publicly
vowed to campaign against</span></a><span style="background: white;"> the
ruling coalition in the senate unless headway is made on some key issues,
Democrats in the chamber </span><a href="http://wrvo.org/post/uncertainty-over-what-legislature-can-accomplish-8-days-left"><span style="background: white;">are
not optimistic</span></a><span class="MsoHyperlink"><span style="background: white;"> about legislative
progress</span></span><span style="background: white;">. “Whether they allow
certain things to get done, it’s up to them,” said Senate Democratic Conference
Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins in reference to the senate ruling coalition of
Republicans and five breakaway Democrats. However, Senator Jeffrey Klein, the
leader of the Independent Democratic Conference and Majority Co-leader of the
chamber, did not rule out the possibility of public financing reform passing before
the session is over. “We still have two weeks to govern,” he stated, “[t]he
political season has not started yet as far as I’m concerned.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i><span style="background: white;">Albany Times-Union</span></i></b><b><span style="background: white;">:
Bruno Acquittal Demonstrates Need for Reform<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white;">Last month, former New York State
Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno </span><a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/state-sen-joseph-bruno-walks-corruption-trial-article-1.1795674"><span style="background: white;">was
acquitted</span></a><span style="background: white;"> of corruption-related
charges. Bruno allegedly accepted $20,000 per month in consulting fees from a
businessman with a stake in Evident Technologies, according to prosecutors, and
then subsequently approved a $250,000 state grant to the company. This did not
qualify as corruption under federal law, the jury determined. The<i> </i></span><a href="http://www.timesunion.com/default/article/Editorial-Mr-Bruno-s-ethical-legacy-5486198.php"><i><span style="background: white;">Times-Union</span></i><span style="background: white;">
said</span></a><span style="background: white;"> that the trial was a
troubling demonstration that ethics and campaign finance laws need to be reformed
in Albany. To “take money from somebody doing business with the state they can
influence,” should be illegal, the newspaper wrote. And there should be more
stringent restrictions on what campaign funds can be used for, along with significantly
lower contribution limits. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="background: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Corruption Trial of New York Officials Brings New Revelations
<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white;">The trial of New York State
Senator Malcolm Smith has brought to light new evidence concerning his alleged scheme
to become mayor of New York City. According to the FBI, Smith wanted to become
the leader of the Senate Democrats, in an effort to raise his profile and subsequently
run for the mayoral race in New York City. Smith asked Moses “Mark” Stern, a
government informant posing as a businessman, </span><a href="http://online.wsj.com/articles/state-senator-malcolm-smith-heard-on-wiretaps-at-federal-bribery-trial-1402100001"><span style="background: white;">to
give him $27,000</span></a><span style="background: white;">—money that was later to be
dispersed </span><a href="http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/06/09/jury-listens-to-taped-conversations-in-malcolm-smith-corruption-trial/"><span style="background: white;">to
other senators</span></a><span style="background: white;"> to cement his influence. It
“puts me in a better position to run for mayor than just being in the senate,”
Smith told Stern. Following this, at a meeting between Stern, Smith and another
FBI informant, Smith asked the men for their help in persuading three of the
five Republican County Chairmen to authorize his mayoral candidacy on the
Republican Party line. Smith </span><a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/lawyer-gop-boss-was-too-drunk-to-commit-a-crime-when-he-took-cash-for-sen-malcolm-smith-1.8351111"><span style="background: white;">sought
to do this</span></a><span style="background: white;"> by </span><a href="http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2014/06/10/recording-ex-councilman-halloran-discussed-malcolm-smiths-alleged-bribery-scheme-with-fed/"><span style="background: white;">bribing
the officials</span></a><span style="background: white;">, prosecutors allege, </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/10/nyregion/New-York-jurors-hear-tapes-in-Malcolm-Smith-trial.html?ref=nyregion%5C"><span style="background: white;">using
former New York City Councilman Dan Halloran</span></a><span style="background: white;"> as his middle-man.</span></span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-6350198611202839902014-06-06T13:09:00.000-04:002014-06-06T13:09:25.201-04:00Money in New York Politics <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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 Syed Zaidi.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more
stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Working Families Party Nominates Cuomo for Governor<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the
Working Families Party’s convention this weekend, the progressive third party <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/05/8546350/after-bruising-floor-fight-cuomo-wins-wfp-nomination">nominated Governor
Andrew Cuomo</a>,
giving him its ballot line in the upcoming gubernatorial election. Cuomo
captured 58 percent of the state committee’s weighted vote, while Fordham law
professor Zephyr Teachout—who has challenged Cuomo for his <a href="http://nypost.com/2014/06/02/teachout-threatens-democratic-primary-against-cuomo/">failure to address
legislative corruption</a>—received 41 percent. In a video message, the governor
informed WFP delegates that he is <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/05/8546349/cuomo-promises-push-democratic-senate">firmly committed to passing
progressive priorities</a> including public financing of elections, a higher minimum
wage, the Dream Act, and women’s equality initiatives. “To make this agenda a
reality, we must change the leadership of the Senate,” he stated. For the first
time, Cuomo openly said that he would oppose the Senate Independent Democratic
Conference: “Either they announce that they agree to come back to the
Democratic Party, or they will face primaries this year from our unified
Democratic coalition.” Teachout is still considering contesting Cuomo in the
Democratic primary. She would need 15,000 signatures on nominating petitions by
July 9<sup>th</sup> to get onto the ballot. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Working Families Party Endorses Challengers to Independent
Democratic Conference <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In
addition to Governor Cuomo, the Working Families Party (WFP) <a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140602/BLOGS04/140609992">endorsed
candidates challenging two members</a> of the Senate Independent Democratic
Conference (IDC). The IDC –composed of five breakaway Democrats—rules the state
senate in a coalition with the Republicans. Former New York State Attorney
General Oliver Koppell, <a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140601/BLOGS04/140539976/failed-bills-in-legislature-to-frame-dems-election-strategy">running against</a> IDC head and Senate Majority
Co-leader Jeffrey Klein, garnered the endorsement of the WFP for the 34<sup>th</sup>
district in the Bronx. However a number of unions in the party, including the
Hotel Trades Council, the United Federation of Teachers and the Mason Tenders,
backed Klein instead. Koppell <a href="http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/2014/05/05/kopell-run/8718275/">has said that
legislative priorities</a>, such as public financing of elections and the Dream Act,
would have passed if the Democrats controlled the chamber instead of the IDC. A
spokeswoman for the IDC said that Senator Klein “is a lifelong Democrat who is
not walking away from his strong record of core Democratic legislative
accomplishments and looks forward to a healthy debate of ideas…in the coming
election.” In the 11<sup>th</sup> district, located in Queens, the WFP endorsed
former New York City Comptroller John Liu over the current incumbent, IDC Senator
Tony Avella.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Buffalo
News</i></b><b>: Without Aggregate
Contribution Limits, Reform Even More Critical <o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In an editorial
on Monday, the <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/buffalo-news-editorials/state-board-of-elections-ruling-opens-the-campaign-cash-spigot-even-wider-20140602"><i>Buffalo News</i></a> criticized the New York State Board of
Election’s decision to not enforce the state’s $150,000 aggregate contribution
limit, saying it sends a clear message that the system is “broken.” The
announcement from the state board came following <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/APb97be1a647424326bd21987ab5790bfb.html">two recent</a> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/nyregion/judge-rejects-state-limit-on-donations-to-super-pacs.html">court decisions</a> concerning aggregate
contribution limits. The upstate newspaper argued that the continual erosion of
campaign finance regulations would cede even more power to wealthy special
interests that wish “to buy influence across the state.” The dominance of big money
in state politics will generate greater opportunities for legislative
malfeasance, exacerbating New York’s culture of corruption. The editorial
concluded that reform is now critical, starting with lowering the sky-high
individual contribution limits. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">New York Elected Officials Spent Campaign Funds
on Legal Defense<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">According
to the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG), New York State elected
officials have spent <a href="http://nypost.com/2014/05/27/new-york-state-pols-dip-into-campaign-funds-for-legal-defense/">more than $7 million</a> in legal fees using
their campaign funds in the past 10 years. Unfortunately, many lawmakers in
Albany have faced a <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/public-financing-can-curb-albany-corruption">plethora of legal
problems</a>
related to corruption or other unethical or illegal conduct in recent years.
Under state law, politicians are not prohibited from using their campaign funds
for legal defense. Former state Senator Carl Kruger, for example, faced one of
the costliest legal battles, and spent $1.7 million from his war chest on
defense attorneys. In 2012, he was sentenced to prison for corruption related
to bribes. Bill Mahoney, NYPIRG’s research coordinator, said that legislators
and Governor Cuomo have “made promises they are going to fix the [campaign
finance] system…and this is something we strongly encourage them to include.”</span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-21100924279750681072014-05-30T12:40:00.000-04:002014-05-30T12:49:12.860-04:00Money in New York Politics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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 Syed Zaidi.<span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more
stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NEW
YORK</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Gov. Cuomo May Oppose Senate Coalition if Public
Financing Isn’t Passed<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Governor
Andrew Cuomo <a href="http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/news/politics/blogs/vote-up/2014/05/29/without-public-campaign-finance-senate-coalition-a-failure-cuomo-says/9718783/">implied this week</a> that he may oppose the
ruling Senate coalition of Republicans and Independent Democrats this coming
fall if the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/gov-cuomo-threatens-senate-republicans-public-campaign-finance-blog-entry-1.1810111">chamber does not pass</a> public campaign
financing. “If public finance is not passed by the end of session, I will
consider the [Senate] coalition a failure,” Cuomo said. “I would give my
opinion to the people of the state,” he continued. The governor is <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/05/8546161/wfp-activists-look-diane-ravitch">facing pressure</a> from the progressive
Working Families Party, which might not <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/05/8546015/open-doubts-wfp-prepares-meet">endorse him</a> on the party’s ballot
line if he doesn’t achieve public financing reform. The party’s nominating
convention is this Saturday. Independent Democratic Conference<b> </b>Senator Jeffrey Klein, who leads the
chamber in a power-sharing agreement with the Republicans, has also insisted
that reform must be enacted before the end of the session. He did not rule out
aligning with the mainstream Democrats if it fails. Former state Attorney
General Oliver Koppell will be <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/cuomo-press-republicans-public-financing-campaigns-article-1.1805288">challenging Klein</a> in the June Democratic
primary. Although <a href="http://wrvo.org/post/election-year-politics-factor-legislative-sessions-final-weeks">negotiations</a> were well underway with
Republicans regarding public funding, the discussions were derailed following a
warning<b> </b>from the Conservative Party.
Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long told Skelos that his party would <a href="http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2014/05/27/conservative-party-may-strip-support-senate-gop-public-financing/">not endorse Senate
Republican candidates</a>
if they vote for public financing reform. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NYS Board of Elections Will No Longer Enforce
Aggregate Contribution Limit <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Commissioners
at the New York State Board of Elections decided last week that the board will <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/05/8545914/boe-votes-not-enforce-aggregate-donation-limits">no longer enforce</a> the state’s $150,000
aggregate contribution limit. Under the state’s aggregate limit, a single
individual could not contribute more than $150,000 combined per calendar year to
all political campaigns, parties, and independent committees in New York. The
board’s announcement <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/APb97be1a647424326bd21987ab5790bfb.html">came after recent court rulings</a> concerning aggregate
contribution limits. In early April, the U.S. Supreme Court declared federal
aggregate contribution limits unconstitutional in <i>McCutcheon v. FEC</i>. Soon thereafter, a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/nyregion/judge-rejects-state-limit-on-donations-to-super-pacs.html">judgment by a federal
district<b> </b>court</a> nullified New York’s
aggregate contribution limit of $150,000 as applied to independent expenditure
groups, such as super PACs. The recent Board of Elections decision nullifies
the aggregate contribution cap regarding donations to all candidates, parties,
and political action committees, in addition to independent expenditure groups.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Albany
Times-Union</i></b><b>: Public Financing
Reform More Urgent Without Aggregate Contribution Limits<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yesterday,
the <a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/for-sale-one-government/29266/"><i>Albany Times-Union</i> criticized the Board of Elections’ decision</a> to not enforce the
state’s aggregate contribution limit, saying it would allow a single wealthy
donor to “pour millions of dollars into an election like this fall’s, when
every state office will be up for grabs.” As it stands, New York’s <i>individual</i> contribution limits are
already sky-high: $41,000 for statewide offices, $8,400 for the Senate and
$4,100 for the Assembly—just for the general election. The decimation of <i>aggregate</i> contribution limits only
exacerbates the problem. To make matters even worse, since Limited Liability Corporations
(LLCs) are subject to <i>individual</i>
rather than corporate contribution limits under New York campaign finance
regulations, one person could set up several different subsidiaries to funnel
millions more into state campaigns. The editorial called on the legislature and
Governor Cuomo to immediately take action by reducing the individual
contribution limits for state offices, closing the LLC loophole, and
instituting a system of public campaign financing so that elected officials can
“pay attention to small donors,” rather than just courting millionaire
contributors. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Buffalo Common Council Passes Resolution to
Explore Small Donor Public Financing <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The
Buffalo Common Council passed a resolution this week to <a href="http://blogs.buffalonews.com/politics_now/2014/05/council-to-explore-public-campaign-financing.html">explore the possibility</a> of adopting a public
campaign financing system for local offices. Council Member Joseph Golombek,
who is pushing the measure, <a href="http://news.wbfo.org/post/city-officials-reviewing-publicly-financed-campaigns">commended his colleagues</a> for being open to
reform, especially considering that it would allow challengers to “actually…raise
money,” when running against incumbents. According to the resolution, in 2011,
incumbents in the Buffalo Common Council outraised opponents by a margin of 24-to-1.
The resolution charged a committee, composed of citizens from local labor
unions and advocacy organizations, with examining the possibilities of a municipal
public financing system. Susan Lerner, Executive Director of Common Cause New
York, praised the resolution, calling it an opportunity to “bring more small
donors into elections,” and to broaden the “range of candidates” running for
office.</span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-61799078078755267242014-05-22T15:55:00.000-04:002014-05-23T10:37:23.723-04:00Money in New York Politics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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 Syed Zaidi and Emily Apple. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtags
<a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NEW YORK <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NY Times: Gov.
Cuomo Must Put His Words into Action <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last week, the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/17/opinion/little-time-left-for-campaign-reforms.html"><i>New York Times</i> pressed Governor Cuomo</a> to put his words on reform into
action. Under the status quo, special interests reign supreme in Albany, the
editorial stated. Incumbents face little competition because they can easily flood
their war chests with sky-high contributions. A system of public financing that
matches small donations with public funds offers the potential to both increase
candidates’ reliance on small contributors and to diversify the pool of
candidates that run for office. Recently, in the 2014-15 budget, the New York legislature
and Governor Cuomo passed a pilot public financing program for the state
comptroller’s race. Republican state comptroller candidate Robert Antonacci has
already said that <a href="http://www.cityandstateny.com/2/75/campaigns-and-elections/wilson-its-unfortunate-antonacci-accepted-public-campaign-funds.html#.U30kz_nIajU">he
will participate</a> in the
program. Although the Republicans in the state senate claim they are opposed to
public financing, the fact that they were willing to agree to this trial
demonstrates that there is hope for passing more comprehensive legislation. The
<i>Times</i> said Cuomo should consider
campaigning against lawmakers that refuse to pass reform. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Fmr. State Sen.
Bruno Acquitted of Fraud Charges in Re-trial<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last Friday, former New York State Senate Majority Leader
Joseph Bruno was acquitted in federal court on fraud charges, ending a
decade-long legal battle. In 2009, Bruno was convicted on <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/08/nyregion/08bruno.html?action=click&module=Search&region=searchResults&mabReward=relbias%3Aw%2C%5B%22RI%3A9%22%2C%22RI%3A12%22%5D&url=http%3A%2F%2Fquery.nytimes.com%2Fsearch%2Fsitesearch%2F%3Faction%3Dclick%26region%3DMasthead%26pgtype%3DHomepage%26module%3DSearchSubmit%26contentCollection%3DHomepage%26t%3Dqry922%23%2Fjoseph+bruno">two
counts of mail fraud</a> for
allegedly receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees from Jared
Abbruzzese, an Albany businessman, and overpaying Abbruzzese for a horse prosecutors
said was worthless. However, the conviction was later vacated on appeal based
on a U.S. Supreme Court decision that honest-services fraud convictions cannot
be based solely on concealment of a conflict of interest. In 2012 federal
prosecutors brought <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/04/nyregion/new-bribery-charges-filed-against-ex-senator-bruno.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1400612484-O2LoMSjm0Moj8YJ56oGnMA">new
charges</a> against Bruno for allegedly
accepting $440,000 in bribes and kickbacks from Abbruzzese, disguised as
consulting fees while in office. Last week, the jury <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/state-sen-joseph-bruno-walks-corruption-trial-article-1.1795674">found
Bruno not guilty</a> of the
charges. The ruling comes after the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/nyregion/boyland-is-convicted-in-second-corruption-trial.html">conviction
of Assembly Member William Boyland Jr.</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/22/nyregion/former-bronx-assemblyman-sentenced-for-corruption.html">Assembly
Member Eric Stevenson</a> this
year on bribery charges. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NYS Board of
Elections Scrambling to Set up Public Financing Program<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The New York State Board of Elections (BOE) released <a href="http://www.elections.ny.gov/NYSBOE/download/finance/DRAFTPublicFinancingPilotProgramRegulations05132014.pdf">draft
regulations</a><span style="font-size: small;"> governing the
new pilot public financing program for the state comptroller’s race last week. According
to </span><a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/05/8545753/boe-scrambles-design-single-candidate-financing"><i>Capital New York</i></a><span style="font-size: small;">, the state BOE asked the New York
City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) to administer the program—a request the city
board refused because it is legally prohibited from doing so. However, the NYC
CFB has provided other assistance to the state agency such as forms, language
for regulations and other advice. State legislators and Governor Cuomo claimed
that the trial program was launched to test the practicality of a statewide
public financing system. Good-government groups, as well as incumbent state Comptroller
Thomas DiNapoli, argued that the pilot was </span><a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/press-releases/Memo_Against_Comptroller_CF_033014.pdf">poorly
constructed</a><span style="font-size: small;"> and </span><a href="http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2014/04/ny_comptroller_dinapoli_wont_use_new_public_financing_for_campaign.html">deliberately
designed to fail</a>. Ian Vandewalker,
counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, stated that “it was a mistake to
give [administration of public financing] to the Board of Elections. By their
own account they don’t have the budget—to give them a new responsibility, it
doesn’t really make sense.”</span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Support for Public
Financing Increasing Among New Yorkers<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a <a href="http://www.quinnipiac.edu/news-and-events/quinnipiac-university-poll/new-york-state/release-detail?ReleaseID=2045">new poll</a> released Thursday by Quinnipiac University, the majority of voters
surveyed—55 percent—indicated that they believe New York State government is
dysfunctional. Eighty-one percent, an overwhelming majority, replied that
corruption in state government is a “very serious” or “somewhat serious”
problem. Similarly, 78 percent thought that Governor Cuomo’s decision to shut
down the Moreland Commission, which was investigating corruption in the state
legislature, was a political deal struck with legislative leaders, rather than
a “decision based on good government.” And a plurality, 46 percent, said that
they approve of public financing of election campaigns for statewide and state
legislative races. Typically, when this question is posed to voters with details
regarding the comprehensive reform plan—including lower contribution limits and
matching small donations—support <a href="http://www2.siena.edu/uploadedfiles/home/parents_and_community/community_page/sri/sny_poll/SNY%20June%202013%20Poll%20Release%20--%20FINAL.pdf">jumps above</a> <a href="http://www2.siena.edu/uploadedfiles/home/parents_and_community/community_page/sri/SNY%20January%202014%20Poll%20Release%20--%20FINAL.pdf">60 percent</a><span style="font-size: small;">. </span> </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-24566103476614545222014-05-16T14:05:00.000-04:002014-05-16T14:05:55.521-04:00Money in New York Politics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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. We’ll
also be linking to dispatches from around the country highlighting the national
scope of this crisis. This week’s links were contributed by Syed Zaidi. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Gov. Cuomo Discusses Passing Reform This Session with
Activists </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Under mounting pressure from good-government groups, unions
and the Working Families Party, Governor Andrew Cuomo met with advocates of
campaign finance reform to discuss passing publicly financed elections before
the end of the state legislative session in June. Cuomo <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/12/nyregion/cuomo-works-to-mend-fences-with-liberals.html?ref=nyregion&_r=2">said</a>
he wants his eulogy to list three accomplishments: marriage equality, gun
control and public financing. The Working Families Party in particular has made
the subject a legislative priority, and progress on the issue is likely to be a
consideration as the party decides whether to endorse Cuomo for his fall
re-election campaign. The party will nominate its candidate for governor on May
31st. Dick Dadey, executive director of
Citizens Union, said <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/05/8545126/cuomo-huddles-wfp-reformers-campaign-finance">he
was optimistic</a> about prospects of passage. “Our discussions with the
governor and Senator Klein have moved from the need to get campaign finance
reform, to specifically how it can get done,” he stated. Assembly Democrats,
and both wings of the Democrats in the state senate, <a href="http://wamc.org/post/public-campaign-finance-showing-signs-life">already
support</a> the much-needed changes. State senate Republicans, who rule the
chamber in a coalition with breakaway Democrats, have been the greatest obstacle
to reform. However, Republican Senate Co-leader Dean Skelos has stated that he
is <a href="http://wxxinews.org/post/skelos-says-no-contradictions-public-campaign-finance">open
to certain mechanisms of publicly funding</a> campaigns such as a voluntary tax
check-off. The pilot public financing program for the state comptroller race,
which legislative leaders—including Republicans—and Governor Cuomo authorized
in the 2014-15 budget, is supported by the state’s abandoned property fund. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Republican State Comptroller Nominee to Accept Public
Financing </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At the New York State Republican Party convention on
Wednesday, <a href="http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/albany-watch/2014/05/14/gop-unites-behind-cahill-ag-antonacci-comptroller/9109987/">delegates
unanimously nominated</a> Robert Antonacci to run for state comptroller come
November. Antonacci has been Onondaga County’s comptroller since 2007. He will
face incumbent Democratic Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in the fall. Antonacci
has enthusiastically indicated that <a href="http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/story/24878/20140515/gop-comptroller-candidate-will-use-new-public-financing-program">he
will be participating</a> in New York’s trial public financing program, which
allows comptroller candidates to receive money from the state’s abandoned property
fund to match small donations. "My family can't self-finance a statewide
elected race. But for the campaign finance pilot program, I would not be in the
race," he stated. In what has amounted to an ironic situation, Antonacci,
whose party has traditionally opposed public financing, will be opting into the
system, while DiNapoli—citing problems with the program’s design—will <a href="http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2014/04/07/dinapolis-sacrificial-lamb-opts-public-financing/">not
be participating</a>. Last month, after criticizing public financing, New York
GOP Party Chairman Ed Cox <a href="http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/politics-on-hudson/2014/04/15/ny-gop-chair-ed-cox-public-financing-broadens-field-comptrollers-race/7738409/">admitted
that</a> the pilot program would broaden “the field on the Republican side
for potential comptroller candidates.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>U.S. Rep. Grimm’s Ex-Girlfriend Pleads Not Guilty to
Violating Campaign Laws </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">U.S Representative Michael Grimm’s (R-NY 11) former
girlfriend pleaded not guilty to charges of violating campaign finance laws
last week. Federal prosecutors charge that Diana Durand <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/05/michael-grimm-girlfriend-_n_5269427.html">reimbursed
straw donors</a> that gave money to Grimm’s 2010 Congressional campaign. Three
donors were allegedly provided with a total of $10,600 for their contributions
by Durand. She faces a <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/rep-grimm-ex-girlfriend-hit-campaign-finance-charges-article-1.1780250">maximum
of eight years</a> in prison if convicted on all charges. Durand’s attorney
defended his client, stating that she has a poor understanding of campaign
finance laws and did not intentionally commit the crime. An investigation into
Grimm’s 2010 campaign is still ongoing. Unrelated to his campaign, Grimm has
been <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/rep-michael-grimm-facing-federal-charges-will-surrender-to-fbi-sources-say/2014/04/27/fd302426-ce33-11e3-b812-0c92213941f4_story.html">recently
indicted</a> for tax evasion, perjury, and hiring undocumented workers, during
his tenure as the co-owner of a health food restaurant in the Upper East Side.
He has vowed to stay in Congress, and continue his 2014 reelection
campaign. </span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-35606749889969918132014-05-09T13:19:00.000-04:002014-05-09T13:19:12.954-04:00Money in New York Politics<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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. We’ll
also be linking to dispatches from around the country highlighting the national
scope of this crisis. This week’s links were contributed by Syed Zaidi. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Gov. Cuomo Tells NY Senate to Pass Public Financing </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-cuomo/finishing-the-job-teddy-r_b_5275864.html">Huffington
Post</a> op-ed, Governor Andrew Cuomo insisted that public campaign financing
is the issue with the “best opportunity for the remainder of the session.” Alluding
to President (and New York Governor) Theodore Roosevelt’s support for campaign finance
reform, Cuomo said that New York should follow in his footsteps. After a series
of corruption scandals last year, the governor empanelled a commission to
investigate shortfalls in the state’s bribery and campaign finance laws. This
week, he defended his decision to end the commission back in April, arguing
that all investigations are now in the hands of state and federal prosecutors
with legal authority to get to the bottom of any wrongdoing. Although the
recently adopted budget restricted public financing only to the state
comptroller’s race, Cuomo pointed out that by agreeing to a pilot program,
opponents “conceded the crucial ideological point they had resisted for
decades: that public funds can be used to finance elections.” Public financing has
been shown to <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/publication/donor-diversity-through-public-matching-funds">boost
small donor participation</a> as well as <a href="http://www.citizensunion.org/www/cu/site/hosting/Reports/CUCompetitivenessReport_March2014.pdf">broaden
the field of candidates</a> that run for office. The governor put the onus on
the ruling Senate coalition—composed of Republicans and a few breakaway Democrats—to
pass reform before the end of this year’s session in June, saying anything less
would be a “true failure and a lost opportunity.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Moreland Commission Members: Pass Reform before End of
Session</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/moreland-lives-article-1.1777733">Daily
News</a>, former Moreland Commission members Peter Zimroth, Lance Liebman, and
Gerald Mollen argued that there is still a chance for Albany to change its
culture of corruption and dysfunction. During its short tenure, the commission
exposed serious and systematic problems with New York State’s campaign finance laws.
Although the commission has now been dismantled following a budget deal that
passed an incomplete set of reforms, there are still two months left in the
state legislative session. Lawmakers should use this time to pass comprehensive
campaign finance reform, the three argued. In New York City, public financing
has allowed constituents to take on powerful lobbyists and special interests.
Donations from natural persons to city candidates are matched at a $6-to-$1
ratio with public funds, allowing elected officials to spend more time courting
citizens rather than corporations or unions. “Initiating this system will cost
some taxpayer money,” the commissioners stated, “But it will cost taxpayers
substantially more over the long run if we continue to allow large contributors
to exercise such outsized influence in choosing our elected leaders.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Democrats in New York Senate Introduce Reform Bills</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Democrats in the New York senate have <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/nys-senate-democrats-keen-softening-campaign-public-financing-bill-blog-entry-1.1783422">introduced
several pieces of legislation</a> to expand public financing to all state legislative
and statewide races, and enact stronger anti-corruption provisions. The <a href="http://auburnpub.com/ap/state/democrats-introduce-new-york-state-ethics-legislation-package/article_08a4fed8-dd51-53d0-aba6-dc4e6930ef56.html">package
of bills</a> would establish a $6-to-$1 match for political donations up to
$250, cap donations from limited liability companies to $5,000, and restrict
contributions to political party housekeeping accounts down to $25,000. Other
bills would strip state and local officials from their pensions if they are convicted
of a felony and outlaw the use of campaign funds for legal defense. The
Democrats are a minority in the state senate, so the fate of the bills will
ultimately be decided by the ruling coalition of Republicans and five
independent Democrats. Independent Democratic Conference leader Senator Jeffrey
Klein has <a href="http://wamc.org/post/senate-democrats-more-reasons-ever-adopt-reform-bills">also
expressed</a> that public financing reform will be a priority for the remainder
of the session. “Certainly we need to have a public matching system,” he told
reporters, “We need to do more than we did in the budget.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Republican Candidate for Comptroller to Accept Public
Financing</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Onondaga County Comptroller Robert Antonacci said he <a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140507/POLITICS/140509879/republican-bids-for-state-comptroller-public-funds">plans
on challenging</a> Democratic State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli for his
position this coming fall. Despite the opposition of his party’s leadership to
publicly financed campaigns, Antonacci <a href="http://www.dailyfreeman.com/general-news/20140507/republican-new-york-state-comptroller-candidate-to-use-public-financing">informed
the Associated Press</a> that he will “whole heartedly and enthusiastically”
participate in the pilot program which allows candidates to receive $6 in
public funds for every $1 they raise up to $175 from New York residents. “We
will show the taxpayers that we know how to spend every dollar we receive wisely,”
Antonacci continued. DiNapoli, although a supporter of reform, decided to opt
out of the matching funds program because he said the pilot was <a href="http://polhudson.lohudblogs.com/2014/04/07/dinapolis-sacrificial-lamb-opts-public-financing/">inadequate
and poorly crafted</a>. New York Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox <a href="http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/politics-on-hudson/2014/04/15/ny-gop-chair-ed-cox-public-financing-broadens-field-comptrollers-race/7738409/">stated
that</a> the public financing trial would broaden “the field on the Republican
side for potential comptroller candidates.”</span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-19763358565730169132014-04-30T23:21:00.000-04:002014-04-30T23:21:26.802-04:00Money in Politics This Week <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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. We’ll
also be linking to dispatches from around the country highlighting the national
scope of this crisis. This week’s links were contributed by Syed Zaidi. <span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Vandewalker:
Public Financing “Pilot” Program Designed to Implode<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Writing in <a href="http://www.newsday.com/opinion/oped/albany-s-whiff-at-public-campaign-financing-ian-vandewalker-1.7678804"><i>Newsday</i></a>, Ian Vandewalker, counsel at the Brennan Center for
Justice, praised New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli for opting out of
the state’s poorly crafted public financing “pilot” program. Despite calls by
the public and several good government groups to comprehensively reform New
York’s campaign finance laws, Governor Cuomo and the legislative leadership failed
to deliver a real public financing system, instead agreeing upon an experiment
limited to the 2014 comptroller elections. The state’s notoriously
dysfunctional Board of Elections was empowered to implement the law for this
year’s upcoming comptroller race. “[T]he system was designed to implode,” said
Vandewalker. Furthermore, the bill, which was passed in a state budget agreement
in early April, fails to lower sky-high campaign contribution limits, close
campaign funding loopholes, or mandate greater disclosure of independent
expenditures by special interest groups. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Watertown Daily Times</i></b><b>: Comptroller Right to Opt-out of Public Financing
“Pilot” Program<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The <a href="http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20140412/OPINION01/704129969"><i>Watertown Daily Times</i></a> praised Comptroller DiNapoli for not
participating in New York’s public financing pilot program for election
campaigns. Although DiNapoli has been a strong supporter of reform, he said the
limited measure introduced during last-minute budget negotiations in early
April, was “designed to fail, by lawmakers who either do not really believe in,
or don’t understand, public campaign financing at all.” If implemented, the
half-hearted effort at reform, would have allowed opponents to point to the
poorly crafted model as an example of the failure of public financing. It has
unfortunately already provided an excuse for Governor Cuomo <a href="https://www.blogger.com/null" name="_GoBack"></a>to
disband the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption. Calling the
reform an inadequate response to the corrosive epidemic of corruption in the
New York legislature, the <i>Watertown Daily
Times</i> said that “lawmakers should go back to the drawing board.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Federal Court
Overturns New York’s Aggregate Contribution Cap Following <i>McCutcheon v. FEC</i><o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Crotty issued a
five-page ruling in <i>New York Progress and
Protection PAC v. Walsh</i>, <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/25/nyregion/judge-rejects-state-limit-on-donations-to-super-pacs.html?_r=0">overturning
New York State’s aggregate campaign contribution cap</a><span style="font-size: small;"> on donations to independent political groups. New
York State restricts the total amount one person may contribute to all candidates
and political action committees to $150,000 per election cycle. The case,
brought by the New York Progress and Protection PAC—a conservative super PAC
that sought to prop up Republican mayoral nominee Joe Lhota last year—argued that
Alabama businessman Shaun McCutcheon had the right to contribute more than
$150,000 to independent groups that supported Joe Lhota. Judge Crotty indicated
that although he was obliged to follow the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in </span><i>McCutcheon v. FEC</i><span style="font-size: small;">, which recently </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/03/us/politics/supreme-court-ruling-on-campaign-contributions.html?gwh=0090A18330D9A4866597B6CD47ABD491&gwt=pay&assetType=nyt_now&_r=0">invalidated</a><span style="font-size: small;"> federal aggregate contribution
limits, he </span><a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303380004579522162099186716?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303380004579522162099186716.html">disagreed
with the court’s analysis</a>
and lamented that regular citizens “are too often drowned out by the few who
have great resources.” Lawrence Norden, deputy director of the Brennan Center’s
Democracy Program, said that “It's not just the American public that is unhappy
with these decisions but a lot of the judiciary below the [U.S] Supreme Court.”</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-34509082443663720622014-04-11T12:29:00.000-04:002014-04-11T12:29:49.239-04:00Money in Politics This Week <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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. We’ll
also be linking to dispatches from around the country highlighting the national
scope of this crisis. This week’s links were contributed by Syed Zaidi. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Governor Could Have Responded to McCutcheon Decision with Reform</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a <a href="http://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/04/08/new-york-campaign-reform-mccutcheon-cuomo/7472189/">Journal
News op-ed</a>, Lawrence Norden and Frederick A.O Schwarz of the Brennan
Center, wrote that Governor Cuomo’s refusal to pass meaningful reform in the
state budget was especially disheartening in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent
decision in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission. Despite his promise to
pass comprehensive public financing reform for all state elections, the
governor approved a narrow and ineffective pilot program for the Comptroller’s
office only. This “reform” package did nothing to reduce campaign contribution
limits or close loopholes that disproportionately benefit incumbents. Last
year, the Moreland Commission found New York’s campaign finance laws to be
wholly inadequate. McCutcheon has the potential to exacerbate the problem if
New York’s aggregate limits are struck down—which would allow a single
individual to donate over $2.4 million to political candidates and committees
in an election cycle. In this environment, another corruption scandal is
inevitable. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Campaign Finance Laws Empower Donor Class Over Middle Class</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In conjunction with the U.S. Supreme Court decision to
strike down aggregate contribution limits, the lack of real reform in the New
York State budget <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/katrina-vanden-heuvel-the-war-against-american-citizens/2014/04/07/77000814-be82-11e3-b195-dd0c1174052c_story.html">empowers
the 1 percent</a>, wrote Katrina vanden Heuvel in the Washington Post. The
donor class now has greater opportunities to buy access to our elected officials.
“We live in a world where…public policy is auctioned off to the highest bidder,”
vanden Heuvel said. The systematic dismantling of campaign finance laws
explains why we’ve failed to make progress on other issues—everything “from
lower taxes to deregulation.” Nevertheless, there are ways that citizens can
fight back against the avalanche of big money in politics, ranging from federal
legislation to a constitutional amendment, all outlined in the article. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Poughkeepsie Journal: Moreland Commission Should Not Be
Shutdown</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Last week, the <a href="http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20140401/OPINION01/304010011/Editorial-State-ethics-panel-must-complete-its-work?nclick_check=1">Poughkeepsie
Journal</a> criticized Governor Cuomo’s decision to dismantle the Moreland
Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, stating that its “job is far from
done.” With more than 30 state lawmakers who have been embroiled in legal or
ethical dilemmas since 2000, the state needs an independent watchdog with
subpoena powers to not only examine individual instances of wrongdoing, but
also to propose solutions to systemic problems of corruption that plague New
York. In its 2013 report, the commission outlined examples of illegal and
unethical behavior by campaign contributors and lawmakers looking for big
checks. However, it did not identify the perpetrators by name. It was expecting
to deliver another report by the end of this year and refer the names to law
enforcement. “At bare minimum, the state must let the panel complete these
tasks.” The U.S. Attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, has <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/11/nyregion/us-attorney-says-he-will-take-up-work-of-corruption-panel-cuomo-disbanded.html?hpw&rref=nyregion">taken
possession of the commission’s files</a> and indicated that his office will
investigate any evidence of corruption. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>“Reform” Deliberately Designed to Fail </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In <a href="http://media.cityandstateny.com/2/75/new-york-executive-chamber/sleight-of-hand.html#.U0fyi_ldWDv">City
& State</a>, Morgan Pehme called out New York State political leaders—the
“four men in the room”—for creating a façade of good government reform, while
perpetuating a status quo which greatly benefits incumbents. The budget adopted
last week constructed a new pilot public financing program for the state
comptroller’s race. The only problem; it was “concocted deliberately” so that
it would fail. The notoriously dysfunctional state board of elections was
allocated the responsibility for managing this program. It had to be prepared
to implement the law in time for the approaching 2014 elections. Pehme
explained that the failure of public financing would allow incumbents to claim
that “this experiment should never” be attempted again. It is no surprise that
Comptroller DiNapoli, a stern supporter of public financing, <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=newssearch&cd=1&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CCgQ-AsoAjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.syracuse.com%2Fnews%2Findex.ssf%2F2014%2F04%2Fny_comptroller_dinapoli_wont_use_new_public_financing_for_campaign.html&ei=awdIU9LHJYnj0gGPqIGoDw&usg=AFQjCNE50wNXx5_x8ELn_TmgDzVqdkFAuA&bvm=bv.64542518,d.dmQ">choose
to opt-out</a> of the ill-crafted proposal. Legislators now need to go back to
the drawing board to create a comprehensive reform proposal that includes
public financing for all state races and adequate funds for enforcement.</span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-73391699747173624952014-04-07T14:17:00.000-04:002014-04-07T14:17:45.876-04:00Money in Politics This Week <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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. We’ll
also be linking to dispatches from around the country highlighting the national
scope of this crisis. This week’s links were contributed by Syed Zaidi. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23moneypolitics&src=hash">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23fairelex&src=typd">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>New York Times: Most Fundamental Reform Missing from State
Budget </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders passed
New York’s 2014-15 budget last week without a comprehensive small donor public
matching system—instead establishing a very limited pilot public financing
program for the state comptroller’s race in 2014. Adding to this lapse in
leadership, Governor Cuomo said he will disband the Moreland Commission to
Investigate Public Corruption, labeling the narrow ethics reforms in the budget
a triumph. This was an especially disappointing development in light of
the <a href="https://exchange.law.nyu.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=2ff2369dfe6e44eeb3ea1e2370ec52da&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.brennancenter.org%2fsites%2fall%2fmodules%2fcivicrm%2fextern%2furl.php%3fu%3d23430%26qid%3d735100">myriad
of corruption scandals</a> that engulfed several legislators in recent years,
including three of the last five Senate Majority Leaders or Co-leaders. Newspapers
throughout the state saw through the spin. The <a href="https://exchange.law.nyu.edu/owa/redir.aspx?C=2ff2369dfe6e44eeb3ea1e2370ec52da&URL=http%3a%2f%2fwww.brennancenter.org%2fsites%2fall%2fmodules%2fcivicrm%2fextern%2furl.php%3fu%3d23426%26qid%3d735100" target="_blank" title="http://www.brennancenter.org/sites/all/modules/civicrm/extern/url.php?u=23426&qid=735100">New
York Times</a> opined that the budget’s inadequate ethics reforms do not
“come close to attacking the root of the corruption problem” in Albany. “The
most fundamental reform,” the Times continued, namely public matching funds for
small donations in all state races, “is missing.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Syracuse Post-Standard: Public Financing “Pilot” Program a
Cop-out</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The <a href="http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/03/new_york_state_budget_ups_and_downs_editorial.html">Syracuse
Post-Standard</a> reiterated the shortfalls of the 2014-15 New York budget in
an editorial last week. Calling restricting public financing to the comptroller’s
office a “cop-out,” the upstate newspaper said that New York City’s successful
model demonstrates that a “pilot” program is unnecessary. If such a system
would have been implemented, it could have enabled candidates who can’t garner
big checks from special interests to compete with small dollar donations from
constituents. Unfortunately for now, the status quo, which allows incumbents to
build up their war chest to scare off any potential competitors, remains
intact. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Albany Times-Union: State Elected Officials Failed to
Address NY’s “Most Glaring Failure”</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On Tuesday, the <a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/opinion/cuomos-swing-and-miss/28468/">Albany
Times-Union</a> termed Governor Cuomo’s failure to pass comprehensive ethics
reform the state government’s “most glaring failure.” Last year, the Moreland
Commission—which the governor appointed to examine New York’s corruption and
campaign finance laws—issued a thorough report detailing the legal and ethical
breaches that have become so commonplace in Albany over the past few years. In
response to the inadequacy of the current system to address pay-to-play
politics, the commission recommended several reforms including public funding
to match small donations. Unfortunately, Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders
“concluded that reform is appropriate only on a very small scale, and only as
long as it doesn’t apply to themselves.” The outcome is surprising considering
that most legislators, as well as the governor, claimed to support full public
financing for all races.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Crain’s New York Business: Ethics Deal Does Little to Deter
Corruption</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On April 4, <a href="http://www.crainsnewyork.com/article/20140404/OPINION/140409924/lost-opportunity-on-ethics#utm_source=Daily%20Alert&utm_medium=alert-html&utm_campaign=Newsletters">Crain’s
New York Business</a> criticized New York lawmakers for their inability to
deliver on ethics reform. “At least 30 [state legislators] have left office
since 1999 because of transgressions ranging from inflating their expenses to
sexual harassment to taking bribes,” the editorial stated. Yet the reform
provision in the budget made only minor changes to state corruption laws and delegated
slightly greater enforcement authority to the state Board of Elections. It did
nothing to address the problem of legislators pushing bills or steering funds
at the request of special interests and campaign contributors. The decision to
eliminate the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption was
especially troubling, Crain’s said—just as the investigators “had dug their
teeth into a plethora of questionable dealings.” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Upstate Newspapers: Ethics Reforms Insufficient to Address
Corruption </b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Rochester-based <a href="http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/opinion/editorials/2014/04/01/state-budget-time-base-ethics-reforms/7137019/">Democrat
& Chronicle</a> called Governor Cuomo’s inability to pass comprehensive
campaign finance reform his administration’s “most notable first-term failure.”
The alternative to public financing for all races—a limited measure for the
state comptroller election in 2014—was too little and too late, given the
election year. The <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/buffalo-news-editorials/proposals-to-kill-the-moreland-commission-enact-weak-campaign-finance-reforms-are-insufficient-20140401">Buffalo
News</a> concurred, saying the plan was a “laughingstock.” The dysfunctional
state Board of Elections is inadequately prepared to implement a public
financing program for the comptroller’s office this election cycle. Moreover, sky-high
campaign contribution limits, and loopholes for special interests hoping to get
noticed by politicians, are still the norm in Albany for the foreseeable future.
Overall, the budget bill was not a compromise for anyone, it was a disappointment.</span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-57440655329785695212014-04-07T09:30:00.000-04:002014-04-07T18:23:03.212-04:00Letter to Governor Cuomo from New York LEAD Member <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b>Letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo from Daniel A. Simon, a member of the <a href="http://nylead.org/" target="_blank">New York Leadership for Accountable Government</a>: </b></div>
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_______________________________________________</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Governor Cuomo:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
I am a member of NY-LEAD, New York
Leadership for Accountable Government (I express only my own opinions here). I
attended the luncheon in New York City a little over a year ago when you spoke
to our group so convincingly about the need for public campaign financing and
its importance to restoring trust in government. That expression of such
strong, unqualified support makes the near-complete capitulation on this issue
in this year’s budget all the more galling, immensely frustrating, and
devastatingly disappointing.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
You talked about the need for
reform supporters to put pressure on public officials to move this issue
forward. I believe that such organizations have more than held up their part of
the bargain. They have done their best to convince our legislators through
persuasion on policy and demonstration of constituent support, and raised the
possibilities of primary and general election challenges. Poll after poll shows
the public strongly supporting reform, with public campaign financing popular
across the political spectrum. There is no inherent reason why this should be a
partisan issue; a vote on this subject should be an easy one for any
public-minded official, not a tough one.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
And I find it inexplicable that the
Moreland Commission, which was tasked with investigating corruption in the
political process, has been terminated. If the suspected influence of money in
politics justified the commission in the first place, it is hard to fathom a
non-political reason to suspend its operations now, before its mission has been
completed.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
With the public squarely on the
side of reform, there comes a time when our elected officials must stop talking
and lead. In my opinion, the time for action has long passed. There is no good
reason not to get comprehensive campaign finance reform done, and there are no
excuses for further delays. It is increasingly difficult for people like me who
care deeply about our democracy to support those whose actions fail to
demonstrate a serious commitment to reform, regardless of what they say on the
matter.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
Now is the time to back up words
with action. Beyond the need to restore confidence in our state government, the
nation desperately needs a model for a campaign finance system that reduces the
dependence of our elected officials on big money which currently permeates and
warps our government. The public is with us on this, but it requires leaders in
Albany who will move beyond talk and take the necessary measures to get the job
done.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
I still hope you will do so.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
Sincerely,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; text-indent: .5in;">
Daniel A. Simon<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-10850321917266135792014-03-25T16:20:00.001-04:002014-03-25T16:20:51.790-04:00Money in Politics This Week <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">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. We’ll
also be linking to dispatches from around the country highlighting the national
scope of this crisis. This week’s links were contributed by Syed Zaidi. <span style="font-size: small;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23moneypolitics">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23fairelex">#fairelex</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>James and Stewart-Cousins: Public Financing Will Benefit
Women</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a Sunday op-ed in the <a href="http://www.lohud.com/story/opinion/contributors/2014/03/22/campaign-finance-reform-aids-women/6713369/">Journal
News</a>, New York City Public Advocate Letitia James and New York State
Senator and Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins described the
benefits that public financing of elections would bring for women in New York.
One <a href="http://www.followthemoney.org/press/Reports/Elections_and_Public_Financing.pdf">observed
effect</a> is more women in elected office. The national average for the
percentage of elected women lawmakers in state legislative bodies is 24.2
percent. But in five states with public financing, it is much higher: for
instance, 35.6 percent in Arizona and 29.4 percent in Connecticut. In New York
State, this figure is even lower than the national average at 21.2 percent—in
spite of the fact that women make-up more than half of the state’s population.
When legislators reflect the population they serve, it strengthens our
democracy. And if more women are elected to public office, they can push for
attention to issues that affect women and families. Senator Stewart-Cousins
took to the radio waves to share her message on WCNY’s <a href="http://www.wcny.org/senate-democratic-leader-andrea-stewart-cousins-criticizes-senates-campaign-finance-resolution/">The
Capitol Pressroom</a> as well. The president of the think tank Demos,
Heather McGhee, agreed in an <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/New-voices-a-result-of-reform-5346573.php">op-ed
in the Albany Times Union</a>, outlining how public financing can lead to
greater diversity in our government. In the Journal News, James and
Stewart-Cousins concluded, “The governor and the Legislature must move this
proposal past the finish line. New York deserve[s] nothing less.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Schwarz and Soros in Times-Union: “Alternatives” to
Reform Are Likely to Maintain Status Quo</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In the <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/A-promise-Cuomo-can-keep-5340878.php">Albany Times-Union</a> this
weekend, Frederick Schwarz, chief counsel at the Brennan Center, and Jonathan
Soros, senior fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, criticized alternatives to
real campaign finance reform floating around in Albany. Public financing of
elections is supported by a majority of state legislators, the governor, and <a href="http://www.siena.edu/uploadedfiles/home/parents_and_community/community_page/sri/SNY%20January%202014%20Poll%20Release%20--%20FINAL.pdf">residents</a> of
New York. However, opponents of reform have proposed different ‘remedies’ that
are likely to leave special interests as firmly entrenched as they are now. One
idea is to overhaul our campaign finance laws through a constitutional
amendment. The long and cumbersome process associated with this strategy is
sure to delay reform beyond the 2018 elections—which is precisely what some
politicians want. New Yorkers cannot afford to wait any longer in light of the <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/nyregion/boyland-is-convicted-in-second-corruption-trial.html">epidemic
of legislative corruption</a>. “The legislature has all the authority it needs
to enact this policy by simple statute, and uses that power regularly on far
more controversial issues when it suits it,” Schwarz and Soros said. This week,
as the final state budget is negotiated, the governor has a simple choice: to
pass real reform and deliver on his promise, or allow the corrupt status quo to
continue under the guise of change.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Norden: Public Financing Would Reduce Corruption</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Writing in response to an <a href="http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/03/ny_public_campaign_financing_taxpayers_should_not_have_to_pay_commentary.html">op-ed
by Brian Sampson</a>, executive director of Unshackle Upstate, Brennan Center
Deputy Director Lawrence Norden stated that <a href="http://www.syracuse.com/opinion/index.ssf/2014/03/ny_public_campaign_financing_special_interests_preserve_influence.html">implementing
publicly financed elections</a> in New York is well worth the cost. The reform
proposal would allow candidates that can gather enough donations from their
constituents the opportunity to access public matching funds in exchange for
adhering to stricter contribution limits. Despite the obvious advantages, it is
no surprise that special interests that benefit from the status quo of
purchasing political access, are opposed to the measure. Sampson’s specious
claims were that (1) public financing in jurisdictions such as New York City
has not deterred corruption, and that (2) implementing it will cost taxpayers a
fortune. However, as the Brennan Center has noted before, New York City has not
experienced anything like the <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/ny-senate-committee-denies-testimony-campaign-finance-experts">corruption</a> scandal
of the past since public financing was first instituted. In addition, as
Bill Fitzpatrick, the Republican district attorney of Onondaga County has
pointed out—after studying the matter on the Moreland Commission—public
financing would lead to “astronomical” savings in the long run due to fewer <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/testimony-moreland-commission-investigate-public-corruption">sweetheart
deals</a> for special interests. Governor Cuomo and legislative leaders
that support reform must now ensure these vital proposals are not bargained
away during budget negotiations this week.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Citizens Union Report: Public Financing Generates Greater
Electoral Competition</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A <a href="http://www.citizensunion.org/www/cu/site/hosting/Reports/CUCompetitivenessReport_March2014.pdf">new
report</a> by Citizens Union of the City of New York describes the
startling differences between New York City and New York State elections when
it comes to incumbency and competition. New York City has an operational and
highly successful public financing system with low contribution limits, while
Albany has no such arrangement in place and sky-high contribution limits. The
results speak for themselves. From 2006 to 2012, 21 percent of all state
legislative elections in New York City were uncontested, whereas during roughly
the same time period, only 8 percent of New York City council races were
uncontested. In the 2012 state primary election, only 27 percent of state
assemblymen and 18 percent of state senators faced challengers, compared to 57
percent of council members in the 2013 city council primaries. Dick Dadey, the
group’s executive director, <a href="http://www.silive.com/opinion/editorials/index.ssf/2014/03/public_funding_would_boost_sta.html">stated
that</a> the report “demonstrates the need for the state to enact
comprehensive campaign finance reforms with public funding so that voters have
greater choice and our democracy becomes healthier.”<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Staten Island Advance: Public Financing Would Make Elections
More Competitive</b><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The <a href="http://www.silive.com/opinion/editorials/index.ssf/2014/03/public_funding_would_boost_sta.html">Staten
Island Advance</a> editorialized in favor of matching small donations with
state funds this week, in light of the <a href="http://www.citizensunion.org/www/cu/site/hosting/Reports/CUCompetitivenessReport_March2014.pdf">Citizens
Union report</a> showing that elections for the New York City council are
more competitive than those for the New York State legislature. High
contribution limits for state campaigns contribute to this uncompetitive
environment by allowing incumbents to build up their war chests to intimidate
any rising challengers. The Advance called for comprehensive reform
including lower contribution limits, pay-to-play restrictions on lobbyists,
greater disclosure, and most importantly a “public matching program that
empowers small donors.” Arguing that reforms would be a step in the right
direction, the newspaper emphasized that they would go a long way towards
reducing incumbency, which breeds a “dysfunctional refuge of politics behind
closed doors.”</span></span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-17691685392583263292014-03-21T13:27:00.003-04:002014-03-21T13:28:29.158-04:00Money in Politics This Week <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background-color: white;">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. We’ll also be linking to dispatches from around the country
highlighting the national scope of this crisis. This week’s links were
contributed by Syed Zaidi.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br />
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span><span style="background: white;">For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter
hashtag </span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"><a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23moneypolitics"><span style="color: #378add;">#moNeYpolitics</span></a> </span><span style="background-color: white;">and</span><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; color: #333333;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23fairelex"><span style="color: #378add;">#fairelex</span></a></span><span style="background-color: white;">.</span></span><br />
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">NEW YORK<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>New York Times</i></b><b>: NY Elected Officials Must Pass Reform before April 1<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/14/opinion/can-new-york-lead-on-campaign-finance-reform.html"><i>New York Times</i> editorial</a> last Thursday pressed Governor Cuomo
and legislative leaders to pass public financing reform in the 2014-15 state
budget by April 1. Arguing that reform would increase the slate of candidates
that run for office, the <i>Times</i> stated
that this prospect is “the reason many in Albany have tried to stop public
financing.” Although Republicans in the Senate have voiced their staunch
opposition to reform and pushed an exaggerated cost estimate, it is important
to note that millions are spent each year on <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/analysis/testimony-moreland-commission-investigate-public-corruption">tax
breaks for special interests</a>—the <a href="http://www.cfinst.org/Press/PReleases/13-04-01/Updated_CFI_Research_on_Public_Matching_Funds_Proposal_for_New_York_State.aspx">cost
of public financing</a> is minute by comparison. In the end, the editorial concluded
that despite the plethora of issues in the budget, Governor Cuomo can “earn the
most credit at home and nationally if he finally makes campaign finance reform
and public financing a workable reality.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Public
Financing Is a Path to Greater Diversity in Politics <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">An <a href="http://amsterdamnews.com/news/2014/mar/20/state-campaign-finance-reform-would-level-playing-/?page=1">op-ed</a>
in the <i>Amsterdam News</i> this week described
the benefits of public financing in New York State. Hazel Dukes, president of
the New York State Conference of the NAACP, and DeNora Getachew, campaign
manager and legislative counsel at the Brennan Center, explained how public
financing would make our elected officials more accountable to the communities
they represent. As the Brennan Center has shown, New York City’s public
financing system has led to <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/publication/donor-diversity-through-public-matching-funds">greater
participation by a more diverse set of donors</a> and helped bring in several
“firsts”—the first African American mayor and the first Dominican-American, the
first Asian-American, and the first Asian-American woman in the City Council. Dukes
and Getachew called on the four men who control budget negotiations “to elevate
the diverse voices of thousands of New Yorkers.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Democrat & Chronicle</i></b><b>: Final Push Needed on
Campaign Finance Reform<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">On Friday, the <i><a href="http://www.democratandchronicle.com/story/opinion/editorials/2014/03/21/final-push-needed-campaign-finance-reform/6668197/">Democrat
& Chronicle</a></i> argued that Governor Cuomo must fulfill his promise to
overhaul New York State’s campaign finance laws. Calling New York City’s public
financing system a “successful” model to replicate statewide, the newspaper
argued that matching small donations from constituents with public funds would
open “the door to more potential candidates (particularly those who aren’t
wealthy).” The editorial sternly emphasized that Governor Cuomo and Assembly
Speaker Silver should not allow campaign finance reform to be become a
bargaining chip in the final budget negotiations as it would “bring long-sought
fairness and oversight to Albany” once passed. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Brune and
Weiss: Albany’s Pay-to-Play System Is Toxic for New York’s Natural Environment<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">In a <a href="http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20140316/OPINION04/303160006/Online-Extra-N-Y-campaign-finance-reform-bill-must-passedhttp:/www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20140316/OPINION04/303160006/Online-Extra-N-Y-campaign-finance-reform-bill-must-passed"><i>Poughkeepsie Journal</i> op-ed</a> last Thursday, Michael Brune,
executive director of the Sierra Club, and Marc Weiss, board member of the
Sierra Club Foundation and a member of New York Leadership for Accountable
Government, wrote that Albany’s pay-to-play political culture has disastrous
consequences on our state’s environment. Currently, contribution limits for
individuals and corporations in New York State are among the highest out of all
states that bother to restrict them. Unfortunately, this allows special
interests to have undue influence over the policy process as elected officials are
forced to spend their valuable time pleading mega-donors for contributions
instead of fighting for their constituents. Governor Cuomo’s budget proposal
could change this reality. It would lower contribution limits across the board
and institute a system of matching small donations with public funds to amplify
the voices of everyday New Yorkers. With reform, “We could prioritize the purity
of our drinking water over campaign contributions from oil companies…We could
cancel tax breaks for companies that pollute our waterways and offer them to
environmentally responsible landowners,” Brune and Weiss stated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Vendor for Dark
Money Group Files Response to Anti-corruption Commission’s Subpoena<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A vendor for a Common Sense Principles, a Virginia 501(c)(4)
group that has reportedly spent millions on New York elections, <a href="http://www.scribd.com/doc/212879580/Document">filed documents</a> in court last week arguing that the
Moreland Commission <a href="http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/03/consultant-firm-pushes-back-against-effort-to-reveal-common-sense-super-pac-donors/">does
not have the authority</a> to
seek donor information from the ‘dark money’ group. Earlier, the Moreland
Commission <a href="http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/02/ag-shine-some-light-on-common-sense-principles/">subpoenaed</a> the vendor, Strategic Advantage
International, after it was unable to find contact information for Common Sense
Principles. The commission argued that analyzing the organization’s donors and
activities would allow it to examine the state’s corruption and campaign
finance laws. Common Sense Principles <a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/160954/senate-gop-is-paying-super-pac-director/">sent
mailers in the 2012 elections</a>
attacking <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/17/nyregion/3-new-york-senate-races-flooded-by-money-from-outside-groups.html?_r=0">three
Democratic</a> state senate
candidates. Its disclosure report showed only a single donor, which turned out
to be a shell entity. In its response to the subpoena, Strategic Advantage
International said that it has complied with the applicable laws. The group
further claimed that “If the names of Common Sense’s donors were to be
publicized, the media scrutiny of those donors would surely be intense – and
the prevalent media view of the organization is not favorable.”</span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-51140290351970794622014-03-14T13:59:00.000-04:002014-03-14T17:40:50.691-04:00Money in Politics This Week <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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. We’ll
also be linking to dispatches from around the country highlighting the national
scope of this crisis. This week’s links were contributed by Syed Zaidi. </span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23moneypolitics">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23fairelex">#fairelex</a>.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>NEW YORK</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>NY Assembly Passes One-House Budget with Public Financing
Reforms</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On Tuesday in Albany, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/albany/2014/03/8541785/silver-rallies-public-campaign-finance-budget">spoke
to a large group</a> of Fair Elections supporters gathered for a rally. Silver
assured the activists that <a href="http://www.legislativegazette.com/Articles-Top-Stories-c-2014-03-12-87133.113122-Silver-We-are-going-to-level-the-playing-field-for-all-New-Yorkers.html">public
financing and comprehensive campaign finance reform</a> would be in the
one-house budget to be released by the Assembly the following day. “You all
have until April 1st to convince the Senate to do the right thing and pass
campaign finance reform,” he added. On Wednesday, the Assembly <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/state/as-groups-press-for-funding-assembly-passes-one-house-budget-bill-20140312">approved</a>
its <a href="http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=E00914&term=2013&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Votes=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y">one-house
budget</a> plan with the aforementioned reforms included. Specifically, the <a href="http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?default_fld=&bn=A08555&term=2013&Summary=Y&Actions=Y&Votes=Y&Memo=Y&Text=Y">Assembly
budget proposed a fund</a> to match donations up to $250 from constituents at a
6-to-1 ratio; similar to Governor Cuomo’s budget, which was introduced last
month. Under the Assembly proposal, a 10 percent surcharge on penalties for
securities fraud and a $5 check-off on tax return forms would fund the system.
On the Senate side, the Independent Democratic Conference and the Republicans
are still negotiating the details of the chamber’s one-house budget. A <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/albany-politics/state-senate-releases-outline-of-its-budget-for-2014-20140313">Senate
resolution released Thursday</a> said that the Senate budget would <a href="http://www.capitalnewyork.com/sites/default/files/RESOLUTION%20MASTER%203-13-14%205.10pm.pdf">modify Governor Cuomo’s public financing program</a>, but did not specify how. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Fmr. NJ Governor Whitman: NY Can Serve as Shining Example of
Reform</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In a recent <a href="http://media.cityandstateny.com/2/75/campaigns-and-elections/fair-play.html#.UyE-Oj9dWDm">interview</a>,
the first female governor of New Jersey, Christine Todd Whitman, explained why
she supports Fair Elections reform in New York. Whitman stated that public
financing presents a grand opportunity for New York to showcase itself as a
leader in reform. Although she was not an early supporter of public financing,
she soon realized that it would allow “those who don’t have access to great
wads of money the opportunity to compete.” In addition, she said, public
financing could help control the extraordinary costs of running an election
campaign—as it did when she was running for governor in New Jersey. When asked
why there is so much opposition to public financing among Republicans (her
political party), she replied that the “Koch brothers aren’t the only people
who give a lot of money. There’s a MoveOn.org and there are the
unions, so it should play to [the Republicans’] advantage too to see some of
this [reform] and get some of their nontraditional candidates more
attention.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>McCutcheon Presents Opportunity for New York to Address
Money in Politics</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This year, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide McCutcheon
v. Federal Election Commission. Katrina vanden Heuvel <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/katrina-vanden-heuvel-the-next-citizens-united-may-fuel-a-popular-uprising/2014/03/11/6e1c0892-a898-11e3-b61e-8051b8b52d06_story.html">wrote
in the Washington Post</a> that although the decision is difficult to predict
at this stage, one possibility is that the Roberts Court could invalidate
aggregate contribution limits—restrictions on the total amount that one
individual can donate to all political campaigns within an election cycle. Regardless
of the outcome, the decision presents an excellent opportunity for New York
State to address the torrent of unlimited spending on elections by special
interests. Governor Cuomo has proposed a series of reforms including matching
small donations with public funds, in order to give constituents the same clout
that mega-bundlers and PACs have in Albany. The measure would also reduce
sky-high contribution limits and beef up enforcement of campaign laws. In
addition, the system also presents distinct advantages for women. “All five
states that have public financing rank in the top 12 for the proportion of
women legislators, with two in the top five.” </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Sign-Up for McCutcheon Rapid Response </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission has been termed
the next Citizens United. Aggregate contribution limits are vital to preventing
the circumvention of candidate contribution limits. The U.S. Supreme Court
could issue its ruling in McCutcheon any day. Join the <a href="http://www.moneyout-votersin.org/">McCutcheon Rapid Response</a> team to
be ready for an event on the day of a ruling. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Norden: Public Financing Can Make Elected Officials
Dependent on Their Constituents Rather than Special Interests </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">In a <a href="http://www.buffalonews.com/opinion/another-voice/another-voice-public-financing-can-quickly-empower-new-yorks-voters-20140306">Buffalo
News op-ed</a> last week, Lawrence Norden, the deputy director of the Brennan
Center’s Democracy Program, stated that comprehensive campaign finance reform,
with a public funding option, is the most practical remedy to the influx of big
money in state politics. Although some reformers have pinned their hopes
exclusively on a constitutional amendment to reverse Citizens United, such a
feat would entail a long and arduous process including the cooperation of 37
states and two-thirds of Congress. Alternatively, public financing can mitigate
many of the problems—such as the disproportionate influence of special
interests and mega-donors—of the current system, and has a real shot of passing
this year. It has already garnered the support of a majority of assembly
members, senators and the governor. The objective of any reform, Norden
explained, should be to make politicians dependent on their constituents rather
than those writing the biggest checks. “The experiences of Connecticut and New
York City,” he noted, “show that comprehensive campaign finance reform, with
public financing at its core, can be a valuable step toward cleaning up our
state government.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Cuomo Releases Ad to Push Public Financing of Elections</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Governor Cuomo’s campaign has released a set of ads
regarding his budget priorities as negotiations over the topics continue. Among
these, is an <a href="http://blog.timesunion.com/capitol/archives/207783/at-last-cuomo-2014s-ethics-reform-commercial/">ad
that asks state residents to call their representatives</a> in Albany to urge
them to support the governor’s comprehensive reform package, which includes
public financing of elections. </span></span></div>
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Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29010340.post-43948446368538650292014-03-07T14:32:00.001-05:002014-03-07T14:33:58.015-05:00Money in Politics This Week <div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">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. We’ll also be linking
to dispatches from around the country highlighting the national scope of this
crisis. This week’s links were contributed by Syed
Zaidi.
</span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">
For more stories on an ongoing basis, follow the Twitter
hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23moneypolitics">#moNeYpolitics</a> and <a href="https://twitter.com/#%21/search/%23fairelex">#fairelex</a>.</span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>NEW YORK</b></span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Women Leaders Sign Letter to Gov. Cuomo and Legislature
Urging Reform</b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This week, more than 160 women business, philanthropic and
political leaders <a href="http://online.wsj.com/article/APa6627d2ab4a6406995c8e47afdb58da0.html">signed
onto a letter to New York’s legislative leaders and governor</a>, encouraging
them to enact comprehensive campaign finance reform with publicly funded
elections. “For women in particular, this kind of reform is vital to
participation in politics,” <a href="http://fairelectionsny.org/women-support-fair-elections/">the letter
stated</a>. Women comprise merely 18 and 25 percent of the seats in the New
York State Senate and Assembly, respectively. By contrast, in five out of the
six states with publicly funded legislative elections, <a href="http://fairelectionsny.org/women-win-fair-elections/">women constitute a
higher percentage</a> of legislators than the national average. In those five
states, the percentage of female legislators is at least 8 percent higher than
in New York. Former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, Rochester Mayor
Lovely Warren, Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner and Nassau County District
Attorney Kathleen Rice were just some of the signatories on the letter. </span></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Female Political Leaders Hold Press Conference in Albany on
Public Financing </b></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On Wednesday, several female state political leaders, along
with members of the Fair Elections for New York coalition, <a href="http://fairelectionsny.org/posts/women-legislators-groups-join-forces-support-fair-elections/5190">gathered
in Albany to press Governor Cuomo and the New York State Senate</a> to pass
small donor public financing in the 2014 budget. Senate Democratic Conference
Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins said that “our current elections
system forces candidates to raise ever-increasing sums of money leading
some lawmakers to focus more on large donors than their constituents.” Other <a href="http://www.nystateofpolitics.com/2014/03/push-for-public-finance-to-gain-more-women-in-the-legislature/">prominent
women</a> including, Karen Scharff, executive director of Citizen Action,
Letitia James, public advocate of New York City, Barbara Bartoletti of the
League of Women Voters of New York State, as well as a host of New York Senators
and Assemblywomen also spoke at the press conference. The event came on the
heels of a Brennan Center-sponsored <a href="http://www.brennancenter.org/blog/women-leaders-pass-fair-elections-new-york">panel</a>
that included Kathleen Rice, district attorney of Nassau County; Barbara
Lawton, former lieutenant governor of Wisconsin; and Julie Muraco, managing
partner of the Praeditis Group LLC. At the panel, the speakers discussed their experience
running for office under the current campaign finance system, and why the issue
of public financing is important to them as civic and business leaders. Empirical
<a href="http://www.american.edu/spa/wpi/upload/2012-Men-Rule-Report-final-web.pdf">research</a>
has shown that raising money may be a <a href="http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/research/reports/PoisedtoRun.pdf">deterrent keeping
women</a> from running for office. Rice explained that this is because women “still
don't have the inherent financial infrastructure men do.” Lawton added that
public financing has the <a href="http://www.followthemoney.org/press/Reports/Elections_and_Public_Financing.pdf">potential
to bring</a> <a href="http://fairelectionsny.org/women-win-fair-elections/">more
women into politics</a>, as it decreases the burden of fundraising from special
interests and mega-donors. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Anna Roosevelt’s Letter to Cuomo: Make New York a Model for
the Nation </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">On Saturday, the <a href="http://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/The-future-is-public-financing-of-elections-5280770.php">Times-Union</a>
published Anna Eleanor Roosevelt’s letter to Governor Andrew Cuomo asking him
to ensure that public financing of elections stays in the state budget. Anna
Roosevelt, the granddaughter of President Franklin D. Roosevelt, said that with
Congress gridlocked, the opportunity for resolving the problems of governance
lies with the states. Governors of New York, from Theodore Roosevelt, who as president
first proposed public financing as a remedy to the corruption of the Gilded
Age, to Mario Cuomo, who authorized the Feerick Commission to investigate the
state’s campaign finance laws, all understood that “New York can set the pace
for the nation.” Roosevelt applauded the governor for including reform in
his budget, saying that such a system would incentivize candidates to raise
money from small donors, rather than special interests. However, she insisted, Cuomo
must now “leverage to ensure a vote” on the matter, and make certain that reform
stays in the budget during the last-minute negotiations with the leaders of the
Assembly Democrats, the Senate Independent Democratic Conference and the Senate
Republicans. “I know that millions of New Yorkers — and many millions more
beyond New York — will be grateful if you indeed accomplish this,”
Roosevelt stated. </span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Utica Observer-Dispatch: Public Financing Should Pass This
Year </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This week, a <a href="http://www.uticaod.com/article/20140302/OPINION/140229217?tag=1">Utica Observer-Dispatch
editorial</a> pressed Governor Cuomo and state legislative leaders to pass
reform before the April 1st deadline for the budget. Some lawmakers are
reluctant to accept reform, the Observer-Dispatch argued, because the current
system provides incumbents with “comfort and job security.” Most incumbents
have widespread name recognition in their district and a large war chest of
campaign funds to deter any potential challengers. In order to build up their
campaign funds, legislators rely heavily on lobbyists, corporations, and a few
ultra-rich donors—everyone except their constituents. In Maine, the editorial
pointed out, 70 percent of legislators partake in a public financing program, which
has also boosted participation. “That’s what New York needs…For the first time,
campaign finance reform is more than just talk. Cuomo has taken action by
including it in his budget, and he now needs to stand his ground. We urge him
to do that and make sure this finally gets done — for the sake of all New
Yorkers.”</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Assemblyman Boyland Convicted on Bribery Charges</b><br />
In a federal court on Thursday, Assemblyman William Boyland (D-Brooklyn) was <a href="http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/brooklyn/brooklyn-assemblyman-william-boyland-jr-convicted-article-1.1713067">convicted
on all 21 counts</a> of bribery, mail fraud and extortion that he faced. The 43
year-old Assemblyman <a href="http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304815004579419231343785154?mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304815004579419231343785154.html">was
accused</a> of accepting $14,300 and soliciting another $250,000 in bribes from
two undercover FBI agents. One of the agents posed as a businessman seeking
Boyland’s assistance in obtaining permits for a carnival in the Assemblyman’s
district. Boyland also allocated public funds for the elderly into a non-profit
organization he controlled, later using the money for campaign events. In
addition to all of this, Boyland <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/07/nyregion/boyland-is-convicted-in-second-corruption-trial.html?_r=0">submitted</a>
more than $70,000 in fraudulent reimbursement expenses to the Assembly. This
latest departure brings the <a href="http://www.newsday.com/news/new-york/assemb-william-boyland-guilty-on-all-counts-1.7307126">number
of vacancies</a> in the 150-member Assembly up to 10, along with two in the
state Senate—many due to corruption, sexual harassment and other ethics
scandals.</span></span></div>
</div>
Syed Zaidihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11584433412377637837noreply@blogger.com0