The New York Top Election Enforcement Office has issued demands that could throw a wrench in the Re-Election efforts of the State Senate's Former Independent Democratic Conference (IDC) Members. The fate of more than $2.5 Million raised from a Partnership between the Independence Party and the State Senate's now-defunct IDC was the subject of a Letter sent by the State's Division of Election Law Enforcement. It wants the Contributions refunded to Contributors. The letter also demanded Candidates return excessive Contributions, which could add up to Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars.
The Letter from the office of Chief Enforcement Counsel, Risa Sugarman, comes almost Seven Weeks after a State Supreme Court Ruled that the Senate Independence Campaign Committee (SICC) and an associated Housekeeping Account were Illegal because the breakaway Group of Democratic Senators was not a Political Party. The SICC Accounts were created in 2016 in Partnership with the Independence Party to boost then-IDC Leader Jeff Klein's ability to raise and spend Campaign Money, as the Accounts were able to accept Larger Campaign Donations and Transfer Unlimited Amounts to IDC Candidates. The increased Fundraising Muscle was flexed in 2016 and had been expected to play a Pivotal Role in the September 2018 Primaries.
The IDC abandoned its "Majority Coalition" with the Senate's Republicans and Rejoined the mainline Democratic Conference in April 2018, in a deal brokered by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Klein became Deputy Leader of the Reunified Democratic Conference and has been endorsed for Re-Election by Senate Democratic Conference Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. The Reunification, however, has not quieted all the Progressive Critics of the former IDC Members, some of whom are facing Competitive Primary Challenges. In April, Klein reiterated Plans to use the SICC Funds to help them. "It's my duty to spend what I need to spend to defend the IDC members in primaries," he said during the Reunification Announcement.
Lawrence A. Mandelker, the Attorney for the former IDC Members and the Independence Party, said last Month that steps had been taken to fully Comply with the Court Ruling from June. At the time, Mandelker also indicated there were No Plans to Refund any Contributions from the SICC and its Housekeeping Account. In a written response to Sugarman's Office on Tuesday, he argued that the Demands from the State went beyond the Judgment of the Court. "Your office must know that the relief you obtained from the court was extraordinarily narrow," Mandelker wrote.
But Sugarman's Office, in last week's Letter, argues that the steps taken don't go far enough and demands Action within 20 days. It's likely the dispute will end up back in Court, potentially before the same State Supreme Court Judge who Invalidated the Fundraising Arrangement in June.
The State's Letter says that complying with the Court's Ruling requires Refunding more than $1.4 Million received by the Housekeeping Account to the original Contributors because the IDC wasn't Allowed to set up a Housekeeping Account, and Refunding Contributions to Candidates from the SICC that were in Excess of Standard Contribution Limits, to reach the $2.5 Million.
In 2016, the SICC Account Reported spending more than $686,000 on behalf of Five IDC Senators, including nearly $540,000 for Marisol Alcantara, who was Elected from a Manhattan District that year; about $57,000 for Tony Avella of Queens; and $50,000 for David Carlucci of the Hudson Valley. The Maximum Contribution to a State Senate Candidate who faced a Primary and General Election Opponent in 2016 was $16,800.
Since February, the SICC has Transferred almost $750,000 to Seven of the former IDC Members. Nearly half of that Money was Transferred before April 23rd, when the Account was still Controlled by Klein and would have been subject to Traditional Contribution Limits, according to Sugarman's Office.
Alcantara received $87,000 during this period, Klein got $79,000, and the Five other Recipients also got more than the $18,000 Contribution Limit for this year. The $392,950 transferred since April 23rd, when State Independence Party Chair Frank McKay took over the Account, wouldn't be subject to Limits if it came from Money raised since then, but Records indicate the Account brought in less than a Third of that Amount in the past Three Months.
The Letter from Sugarman's Office maintains that the Funds in the SICC Account, which were raised before April 23rd, need to be Deposited in a New, Non-Party Account controlled by Klein. The only Funds allowed in the SICC Account, the Letter says, are those Raised in the past Three Months. Barbara Brancaccio, a Spokesperson for the former IDC Members and Independence Party, said Sugarman's Office was "unwilling to abide by the decision of the court and the counsel to the committee will be asking the court to sanction her if she persists in distorting the judgment of the court. Her release of this letter to the press in the middle of a heated political campaign is an abuse of her powers." Brancaccio also confirmed that, in response to the June Ruling from the State Supreme Court, a Notice of Appeal was Filed to Preserve the Committee's Legal Options.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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