Results tagged “campaignfinancing”

How much do our elected officials in Albany get by on their salaries as legislators and how much of their regular expenditures come from campaign money raised for nonexistent election battles? The Daily News has an extensive piece today investigating just what state senators and assemblymen are using their campaign funds for—all within the scope of the law.

City Council members looking for reelection have found a reliable source to turn to for hefty campaign contributions—organizations they have hooked up with taxpayer money. The Daily News says that 3/4 of council members who have taken money from organizations that total (at a conservative estimate) more than $200,000 in contributions, or up to $467,000 with public matching dollars. The paper cites Christine Quinn, David Yassky, Bill de Blasio, Jessica Lappin, Vincent Gentille and John Liu as the worst offenders of taking money from groups they have set up with slush funds where they get to funnel tax dollars directly into district organizations of their choice. Lappin has received nearly as much in contributions from board members of a school she sponsored (just under 12K) as the amount of funds she sent to them (15K). Susan Lerner of Common Cause told the News, "It makes the whole thing seem incestuous. (Groups) feel they have to hire lobbyists and give campaign contributions in order to continue to provide services in the community." Flashback: Last year's slush fund scandal.

Mayor Bloomberg said yesterday that he has no plans to cap his spending on a reelection bid—and he was certainly not eager to discuss the issue. While the mayor seems to have enjoyed a light news week addressing big headlines like the maple syrup smell and the vicious attack at the teeth of Staten Island Chuck (not that we're complaining!), his plans for financing the upcoming campaign did not sound like something he was eager to have at the tip of his tongue.