The Independent View: Crowdsourcing New York Political Clubs

I found this interesting article about New York Political Clubs by Cristian Salazar in the Gotham Gazette.

As part of a collaboration by the Gotham Gazette with their good government group and sister organization, Citizens Union, there were 224 political clubs that failed to register their contributions with the state.

As an example of the practice, the illegal schemes that former City Councilman Larry Seabrook was accused of orchestrating, was the laundering of tens of thousands of dollars in contributions through his political club that resulted in some of the more colorful details during his trials. There was, the $50,000 that his club received from a Seabrook recommended contractor who got a $300,000 opportunity to install boilers at the new Yankee stadium. There was the doctored receipt that prosecutors say indicated Seabrook was reimbursed $177 by the club for a bagel sandwich and soda. Seabrook is gone from office, after being convicted for misappropriation of funds last summer, and is being sentenced to five years in prison.

But political clubs like the one Seabrook founded and controlled remain powerful tools of elected officials and parties. These political club going back generations, and more often play a unique and positive democratic role in the city. However, too often, clubs are skirting state law by failing to report campaign activity, according to a report published by Citizens Union.

In an analysis of campaign filings between January 2009 and January 2013, Citizens Union found that 224 political clubs that had over $1,000 in contributions did not register with the state, as required by law. "As a result of not filing and reporting who contributes to them and to whom they make expenditures, a shadowy world of political activity is hidden from view," the report states.

CLICK HERE for to read the report called "THE UNDISCLOSED CAMPAIGN ACTIVITY OF POLITICAL CLUBS IN NEW YORK STATE" (PDF).