NYC Mayoral Candidate Challenges City Limits on Funding Campaigns

New York City mayoral candidate George McDonald, President of the Doe Fund, filed a lawsuit to prevent the New York City's Campaign Finance Board from taking enforcement action against his campaign for taking contributions in excess of city limits but not state limits. The first filing date is January 15, 2013 and he knows he is over city limits and accepted a corporation loan.

The law suit alleges the city does not have the authority to require candidates who are not accepting public matching funds to abide by city laws that set stricter limits on donations and contributions.

The state law allows the maximum individual contribution for mayor and other citywide offices at $19,700 for the major party primaries and $41,100 for the general election. The state also allows corporation loans.

In 2004, the New York City Council approved legislation that mandated every candidate for local office follow the city limits of accepting individual contributions of $4,950 for the primary and general elections combined. The city law also prohibits any loans by corporations. These limits do not affect self-funded candidates.

Since the city law was enacted in 2004, no candidate had challenged the law, until now.

Officials of the Campaign Finance Board say they plan to defend the city law. "New York City's campaign finance laws keep corporate money out of our elections and reduce the influence of big-money contributors," said Amy Loprest, the board's Executive Director. "Combined with the public-matching funds program, the common-sense contribution limits protects the voice of all New Yorkers in city elections."










NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us

NYC Mayoral Candidate will Challenge Campaign Finance Laws

George McDonald, the founder and president of the Doe Fund, a nonprofit dedicated to fighting homelessness and addiction, said he doesn't plan to accept public matching funds as he builds a war chest for the 2013 mayoral race. McDonald has already switched his voter registration from Democratic to Republican, which would allow him to bypass a crowded Democratic party full of well-known, well-funded hopefuls, as was the case with Bloomberg back in 2001.

Other candidates for local office have also declined to participate in the city's campaign finance system, where small donations are matched with public funds at a rate of $6 to $1. But Mr. McDonald is the first to argue that he doesn't have to abide by the city's stringent contribution limits. Instead, Mr. McDonald maintains, he must abide by more lenient contribution limits set by the state.

The city's caps on contributions are intended to level the playing field and curtail the influence of money in politics. According to the city's Campaign Finance Board, a candidate for citywide office is prohibited from accepting an individual donation in excess of $4,950 for the primary and general elections combined.

But according to the state, the maximum individual contribution for mayor and other citywide offices is $19,700, in the Democratic and Republican primary and $41,100 in the general election.

In 2004, the City Council approved legislation that mandated every candidate for local office, not just those who voluntarily accept public matching funds, follow the city's contribution limits. But John Conklin, a spokesman for the state Board of Elections, said it's the state, not the city, that has the power to set limits for candidates who don't join the matching-fund system.

The state Board of Election's stance opens the door for other 2013 candidates to take their chances and sidestep the city's contribution limits, potentially flooding the campaigns for mayor, comptroller, public advocate, borough president and City Council with significantly higher donations than city law stipulates.

Richard Briffault, a professor of law at Columbia University, said the issue is legally unresolved because nobody has ever challenged the city authority to set its own limits.









NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote!

Michael H. Drucker
Technorati Tag in Del.icio.us