CFB Votes on Enforcement Matters Campaigns from 2009 and 2013 Elections
At a regularly scheduled meeting today, the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) determined that three campaigns involved in the 2013 citywide election cycle and one campaign from the 2009 citywide election cycle committed violations. The Board assessed penalties for those violations, and determined that four campaigns are required to repay public funds. Refer to the charts below for details on these determinations.
Additionally, the Board voted to dismiss a complaint against the 2013 Yetta Kurland campaign, and to delegate public funds payment authority for the special election in City Council District 9 to the most senior member of the Board.
To open the meeting, CFB Acting Chairperson Mark S. Piazza issued the following statement:
"The mayor has called a special election for City Council District 9 in northern Manhattan, which will be held on Tuesday, February 14.
Candidates interested in running for the seat face some pressing deadlines. Most importantly, candidates who wish to participate in the Campaign Finance Program must submit a certification form to the CFB by Tuesday, January 17. That’s only three business days from today. Forms delivered to the CFB by hand must be received by 5 PM on Tuesday and forms submitted by mail must be postmarked before midnight.
Ahead of the special election, the CFB’s Voter Assistance staff is registering voters and making sure everyone eligible to participate has the opportunity to do so. And since the election will be held on Valentine’s Day, we encourage voters to bring their loved ones with them to the polls.
Today also marks the initial day for candidates in the 2017 citywide elections to file the first campaign finance disclosure for 2017. All 2017 candidates are required to submit their filings by January 17th. The CFB will publish those financial disclosures to our website as candidates provide them."
Violations and Penalties
(for details, follow the link in the Total Penalties column)
| Candidate (Election Cycle) |
Office | Violation | Penalty | Total Penalties |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mark Treyger (2013) Program Participant: $170,856 in public funds received |
City Council (District #47) |
Accepting a contribution from an unregistered political committee | $250 | $2,850 |
| Failing to demonstrate that spending was in furtherance of the campaign | $2,500 | |||
| Making impermissible post-election expenditures | $100 |
| Candidate (Election Cycle) |
Office | Violation | Penalty | Total Penalties |
| John Liu (2009) Program Participant: $1,355,065 in public funds received |
Comptroller | Accepting five corporate contributions | $1,125 | $15,253 |
| Accepting eight contributions from unregistered political committees | $2,000 | |||
| Accepting thirty-one over-the-limit contributions | $6,375 | |||
| Accepting sixteen over-the-limit Doing Business contributions | $4,250 | |||
| Failing to provide bank account and merchant account statements | $300 | |||
| Failing to provide signed intermediary affirmation statements | $200 | |||
| Failing to report daily pre-election contributions in excess of $1,000 and expenditures exceeding $20,000 during the two weeks preceding the election | $300 | |||
| Non-campaign related expenditures | $103 | |||
| Improper post-election expenditures | $600 |
| Candidate (Election Cycle) |
Office | Violation | Penalty | Total Penalties |
| Yetta Kurland (2013) Program Participant: $92,100 in public funds received |
City Council (District #3) | Failing to provide bank/merchant account statements | No Penalty | $12,838 |
| Failing to report transactions | $125 | |||
| Failing to demonstrate compliance with reporting requirements for disbursements | $125 | |||
| Accepting over-the-limit contributions | $125 | |||
| Accepting contributions from corporations, limited liability companies, or partnerships | $275 | |||
| Accepting contributions from unregistered political committees | $125 | |||
| Failing to demonstrate that spending was in furtherance of the campaign | $187 | |||
| Making impermissible post-election expenditures | $172 | |||
| Exceeding the expenditure limit | $11,704 |
| Candidate (Election Cycle) |
Office | Violation | Penalty | Total Penalties |
Benjamin Kallos (2013) Program Participant: $184,800 in public funds received |
City Council (District #5) | Filing a late disclosure statement | No Penalty | $3,427 |
| Accepting over-the-limit contributions | No Penalty | |||
| Making impermissible post-election expenditures | $183 | |||
| Exceeding the expenditure limit | $3,244 | |||
| Using Campaign funds for inaugural expenses | No Penalty |
Public Funds Repayments
| Candidate (Election Cycle) |
Public Funds Received | Public Funds Repayment |
| Mark Treyger (2013) City Council (District #47) |
$170,856 | $2,750 |
| Benjamin Kallos (2013) City Council (District #5) |
$184,800 | $506.56* |
| John Liu (2009) Comptroller |
$1,355,065 | $9,035 |
| Yetta Kurland (2013) City Council (District #3) |
$92,100 | $1,444.81* |
Archived video of today’s meeting and hearing is available at www.nyccfb.info/live.
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