Campaign Finance Board Votes on Penalties and Repayment Obligations; Issues Advisory Opinion

During a regularly scheduled meeting today, the Campaign Finance Board determined that four campaigns in the 2009 elections commited violations.

Separately, the Board determined that two campaigns in the 2009 elections must repay public funds.

For details on these Board actions, please refer to the charts below. Please note that the hyperlinked documents (pdf) attached to the 'Total Penalties' for each campaign provide detail on the violations committed.

The Board also voted to deny a Rule 5-02(a) Petition from Adrian M. Straker CD #36 (2009).

The Board issued an advisory opinion in response to a request from SEIU Local 32BJ. The opinion clarifies Campaign Finance Act provisions, Board rules and existing Advisory Opinions regarding when certain activities undertaken by outside groups constitute in-kind contributions.
 
The request posited three scenarios regarding activities undertaken by an outside group in cooperation with candidates:  the mailing of two different flyers and the candidates’ appearance at an event. Activities coordinated between candidates and outside groups that promote or facilitate a candidate’s campaign must be reported by candidates as in-kind contributions subject to the contribution and spending limits.  Today’s advisory opinion provides non-exhaustive factors that the Board will consider when determining whether a particular expenditure promotes or facilitates a candidate’s campaign.
 
The opinion applies those factors to the scenarios in the request, and concludes that a flyer commenting on a candidate’s character or fitness by articulating the candidate’s support for a position the union is advocating coming in a mailing two weeks before an election is likely to be found to be an in-kind contribution from the union to the candidates. Further, the opinion states that it is likely that the Board would not find that a rally whose focus is unrelated to the promotion of the candidate’s nomination or election, or a flyer advertising that rally, to be in-kind contributions. The advisory opinion also reiterates that the independent expenditure disclosure rules do not apply to activities coordinated with campaigns.
 
The full text of the advisory opinion can be found on the CFB website.

Violations and Penalties

¹ Candidate paid penalties in full.

Please review the 2009 Penalty Guidelines for more information on how penalties are assessed.

 Public Funds Repayments

2009 candidates Leroy G. Comrie and Carlos Sierra are required to repay the balance remaining in the campaign's bank account.

Archived video of today’s meeting, and past Board meetings, can be found at www.nyccfb.info/live.