May 2013, No. 29
New York City
Campaign Finance Board
Father Joseph P. Parkes, S.J.
Chairman
Art Chang
Richard J. Davis
Courtney C. Hall
Mark S. Piazza
Board Members
Amy M. Loprest
Executive Director
Elizabeth Bauer
Chief of Administrative Services
Daniel Cho
Director of Candidate Services
Sue Ellen Dodell
General Counsel
New York City’s Contribution Limits Upheld
On May 1, the CFB celebrated its second major
court victory in as many months. The latest
decision — in McDonald v. CFB — affirms a key
provision in the Campaign Finance Act that
applies the city’s reasonable contribution limits to
all candidates, whether or not they join the public
matching funds program.
The lawsuit, brought by mayoral candidate George
McDonald, sought to overturn Local Law No. 60 of
2004, which requires city candidates who opt out
of the public financing program to abide by the
same limits and prohibitions on contributions that
apply to participating candidates.
Peri Horowitz
Director of Campaign Finance
Administration
Prior to the passage of LL60, non-participating
candidates could raise contributions under New
York State’s higher limits, as much as $60,000
through a single contribution. Thirty-eight states
limit campaign contributions, and among them,
New York’s limits are the highest.
Onida Coward Mayers
Director of Voter Assistance
Judge Kathryn Freed ruled that setting uniform
contribution limits, even for candidates who do not
Eric Friedman
Director of External Affairs
Kenneth O’Brien
Director of Systems Administration
Julius Peele
Director of Auditing & Accounting
Jesse Schaffer
Director of Special Compliance
Peggy A. Willens
Director of Management
Analysis & Records Administration
Matt Sollars
Press Secretary
Bonny Tsang
Press Aide
Lauren Vincent
Press Intern
FULL DISCLOSURE
May 2013, No. 29
40 Rector Street, 7th Fl.
New York, NY 10006
www.nyccfb.info
Questions/Comments
212.306.7100
press@nyccfb.info
“This decision is a big win for New York City. Our
common-sense limits on campaign contributions
help guarantee that the voices of average New
Yorkers are not drowned out by big donors writing
$60,000 checks,” said Amy Loprest, Executive
Director of the CFB.
We are grateful to attorneys Jonathan Pines,
Spencer Fisher and Evan Hochberg of the New
York City Law Department for representing the
CFB’s position in court, and to the New York State
Attorney General for filing a brief supporting our
position.
As Election Day Draws Closer, Candidates Spend More
Candidates in the 2013 elections are starting
to increase the pace of their spending. In the
two-month period covering March 12 to May 11,
candidates reported spending slightly more
than $5 million, a 59 percent increase over the
spending reported in the previous two-month
period that ended in March.
FULL
DISCLOSURE
Elizabeth A. Upp
Director of Communications
wish to participate in the city’s voluntary matching
funds program, “is well within the powers granted
to the City to protect the welfare and well being
of its citizens.” She added that the city’s lower
contribution limits are “reasonably related and
calculated to achieve the goals of reducing the
influence of ‘wealthy special interests’ over local
elections, and increasing public participation and
public confidence in those elections.”
Professional services (like legal counsel) are the
next largest expense, at 10.6 percent, followed by
fundraising at 8.5 percent.
Candidates are starting to spend a more
significant portion of their campaign budgets on
the meat-and-potatoes expenses of campaign
season: advertising and wages paid for campaign
staff. Wages account for 7.1 percent of the pie in
this disclosure period, while print and radio ads
comprise for 6.8 percent. Spending on staff and
voter outreach will only increase as Election Day
gets closer. Stay tuned!
news from the
nyc campaign finance board
Notably, candidates spent at least $3.57 million,
or 70 percent of the total, on goods and services
provided by individuals and businesses located
in New York State. Campaign consultants took
the lion’s share, with more than 40 percent.
Consultants
How Candidates
Spent Their Money
in New York State
Professional Services
20.4%
6.0%
Fundraising
40.5%
Salaries/Wages
Advertising (Radio/Print)
6.8%
Office Rent
7.1%
8.5% 10.6%
All Other (including polls, mailings,
TV ads, advances, uncategorized expenses)
1
NYC Votes 2013: New Tool for Reaching Voters
The CFB’s NYC Votes campaign is developing exciting new tools for
voter engagement for the 2013 elections. Our new NYC Votes web app
will give candidates the opportunity to seamlessly collect credit card
contributions at house parties and elsewhere on the campaign trail.
The app will allow candidates to track how much money they’ve raised
in real time and will make reporting easier.
Voter Guide, the Debate Program for citywide offices, and a National
Voter Registration Day to ensure New Yorkers are prepared to head to
the polls this year.
Congratulations, CFB!
The app was demonstrated
at a public hearing of the
Voter Assistance Advisory
Committee (VAAC) and
again at a public event at
the New York Law School
on May 28. VAAC Chair Art
Chang hopes that this app
will ultimately transform the
relationship between New
York City voters and their city
government.
In the coming weeks, the app will be expanded to include candidate
profiles, including tools to communicate directly with candidates through
social media. The app will allow voters to share their electoral preferences
with friends and provide information about how to register to vote. The
app will be available on most mobile devices via a web browser.
In addition to the NYC Votes app demonstration, members of the public
were invited to comment on the 2012-2013 Voter Assistance Annual
Report at the public hearing. The report analyzes voter turnout in 2012,
provides legislative recommendations to improve the voting experience
in New York, and details the work that the CFB staff did this past year to
encourage New Yorkers to vote. The report also details the CFB’s plans
to engage and educate voters in 2013, including the publication of the
Diana Lundy, CFB’s Blood Drive Coordinator, stands with awards for CFB’s
blood donations throughout the years. This year, the CFB was recognized
as one of the city agencies with the highest donation average.
MAY BOARD ACTIONS
Violations and Penalties
Candidate
Election
Office Sought
Penalties
Bill de Blasio
2009
Public Advocate
$20,500
Daniel P. Dromm
2009
CD #25
$0
Candidate
Election
Office Sought
Payment
Bill de Blasio
2009
Public Advocate
$24,948*
Post-Election Public Funds Payment
* The candidate’s total penalties will be deducted from this amount.
2
Meet Our Audit Staff!
As we approach the 2013 elections, the CFB’s audit work will be
ramping up. This month, we want to introduce you to our auditors, who
play a big behind-the-scenes role in ensuring that public dollars are
used appropriately.
A primary focus for our Audit staff between now and the elections will
be reviewing claims for matching funds to ensure that candidates who
hope to be eligible for public matching funds have complied with Board
rules. Public funds payments are not made until ballot determinations
are made by the Board of Elections in late July or early August. Once
the ballot determinations are made, the CFB will make public funds
payments four days following each disclosure deadline.
Once votes have been cast, the CFB’s Audit staff launches a robust
review of all campaign finance activity for every campaign; there
are already over 230 campaigns! The post-election audits include a
thorough review of documents provided by campaigns to confirm all of
their contributions, expenses and other transactions. For this election
cycle, the audit staff has already gotten a jump-start on the postelection audits by requesting documentation from campaigns, which
will ease the post-election audit burden on campaigns and speed up
the auditing process.
Here are a few of the auditors who will work with campaigns to
safeguard the City’s investment in our elections over the coming months.
Sauda Chapman was born and raised in the
Bronx. She went away to SUNY Binghamton
for college, but returned to the Bronx after
graduation to live near her family. Sauda
devotes her free time to her two-year-old
daughter, making videos of the song and dance
routines she invents.
Christopher Cruzcosa has family roots in
Texas, but grew up on Air Force bases around
the country. An avid runner, Chris likes to jam
out to indie bands like “The Decemberists”
while pounding the pavement. He graduated
from NYU and claims to be a nerd who “loves
watching cheesy sci-fi.”
Angel Daniels hails from Atlanta, but one of
her favorite pastimes is exploring her adopted
home of New York City. A self-described foodie
and inline skating enthusiast, Angel also enjoys
writing poetry and song lyrics in her spare time.
Hannah Golden grew up in Pittsburgh. She
describes herself as a voracious reader who
will read anything. Hannah moved to New York
City to attend Stern College and has been living
in the city for six years.
Danielle (Hennessey) Willemin grew up
in Hanson, MA, best known for its bogs and
cranberries. Danielle loves to read, play
dominoes, and to cheer for the Red Sox, Patriots
and Bruins. She recently moved to New York
City after graduating from Providence College
in Rhode Island. Also, she got married in April!
Jennifer Jones is originally from Kentucky
and comes to New York City via Nashville. She
attended law school at NYU. Jennifer recently
settled on Roosevelt Island and has spent a lot
of time exploring her new digs. She loves riding
the tram to Manhattan every morning on her
way to work.
Jonnathon Kline is from all over America,
including California, Alaska, Utah, Ohio, Texas,
and Arizona before settling in New York City.
In his free time, he likes to travel, fly antique
aircrafts, ride motorcycles and go fly fishing.
Alison Levy, a ten-year veteran of New
York City, is an unrepentant theatre and film
aficionado who spends as much on Broadway,
Off-Broadway, and Film Forum tickets as she
can. Her ties to the Nutmeg State (Connecticut)
include a degree from Wesleyan University.
Alison occasionally indulges a long-simmering
interest in shuffleboard.
Selene Muñoz was born in Mexico City and
moved to New York City when she was five
years old. Today, her life is all about music.
Selene plays the guitar, timbales and bongos.
She is the lead singer of a Latin fusion band
called “Una Via,” and the co-director of the
youth chorus at her church.
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news, and campaign finance news and analysis, sign up here.
For Campaign Finance Board news and updates, follow us on Twitter: @NYCCFB.
For information about the CFB’s voter outreach and education efforts, follow @NYCVotes on
Twitter and Facebook.
3
CANDIDATE CORNER
Matching Funds Certification Due June 10
Candidates hoping to be eligible to receive public matching
funds through the Campaign Finance Program must submit
a Certification form to the CFB by Monday, June 10, 2013,
which also obligates them to abide by the spending limits for
each office.
The Certification form for the 2013 elections is available to
download on the CFB website. Once completed, the form must
be signed by both the candidate and the campaign treasurer
and notarized. Candidates must submit the form to the CFB
by mail or hand delivery on or before June 10th. If delivered by
mail, the certification form must be postmarked on or before
June 10th.
Please check with your Candidate Services liaison if you have
questions about the Certification form. This form IS SEPARATE
from the registration form that you may have submitted at the
start of your campaign and IS REQUIRED to join the public
matching funds program.
Top Searches on CFB Searchable Database
May 1, 2013 –May 21, 2013
1
Vito J. Lopez
2
Joseph J. Lhota
3
Christine C. Quinn
4
William C. Thompson, Jr.
5
Anthony D. Weiner
6
Bill de Blasio
7
John C. Liu
8
Letitia James
9
John A. Catsimatidis
10
Reshma M. Saujani
NEXT FILING DEADLINE:
MONDAY, JULY 15!
4
Don’t Miss the 2013 Voter Guide
Submission Deadline in June!
Want to reach thousands of voters? Want to do it for free? The
CFB’s nonpartisan Voter Guide gives all registered candidates
the chance to communicate their message to voters before
each primary and general election. The Voter Guide is a key
element of NYC Votes, our comprehensive voter education
and engagement campaign. The Voter Guide is produced in
print and video, and available online.
The deadline for candidates to participate in the print and
online editions of the Voter Guide is fast approaching.
Candidate profiles must be submitted by June 12, 2013!
The CFB has produced and mailed the Voter Guide to every
household with a registered voter throughout the city since
1989. The Guide covers elections for mayor, public advocate,
comptroller, borough president, and City Council, as well as
ballot initiatives. The Guide is published in English and Spanish,
as well as Chinese and Korean, pursuant to the requirements
of the Voting Rights Act. This year, it will also be published in
Bengali. The Guide is also published on the CFB’s website,
giving voters direct access to each candidate’s campaign
website and social media accounts.
This year, candidates submit their Voter Guide materials via
their C-Access account, using our Voter Guide submission
application. Candidates will use this application to provide
a personal profile, a photo, responses to a common set of
questions, and social media contacts.
Candidates will also use this application to submit a video
script and schedule a time to record a statement for the videos.
The deadline to submit a video script is June 26, 2013.
Videos will be filmed July 22 to August 5.
Voters will receive the Voter Guide in the mail before the
September 10 primary election, and the November 5 general
election. Voter Guides will include profiles of all registered
candidates who submit by the deadline and are on the ballot
as of press time. Individual videos and profiles will be available
online, and the videos will also be aired on television the week
before the election.
Don’t miss out on this excellent opportunity to get your
message to voters!