Campaign spending in Guilderland races



GUILDERLAND — Advertising, campaign palm cards, mass-mailings of letters and postcards, debates, luncheons, lawn signs, and just getting the word out.

They all have one thing in common: They cost money.

In Guilderland, campaign budgets range from a few hundred dollars to thousands of dollars. Personal donations make up a good portion of the candidates’ war chests, but corporate donations and political contributions are increasingly prominent.

While nearly all of the town’s candidates consider political fund-raising unsavory at best, their views differ on exactly what political contributions mean.

In Democrat-dominated Guilderland, nearly half of the races are unopposed, but fund-raising hasn’t slowed.

In the four-way race for two town board seats between two Democratic incumbents and two Republican challengers, each candidate has his own take on fund-raising.

Incumbent Democrat David Bosworth, who chairs the town’s Democratic Party and co-chairs the Albany County Democratic Committee, said that contributors know that their financial support will have no influence on town or county business.
Bosworth pointed to Supervisor Kenneth Runion as the "front-runner" when it comes to fund-raising.
"He’s full-time and he leads our team in terms of fund-raising because it is a more important position," said Bosworth of being supervisor. Runion, a Democrat, is seeking a fifth term and is unopposed.

A number of local businesses have donated to both Runion and the Guilderland Democratic Committee including:

— Developer Jeff Thomas’s WeatherGuard Roofing. Thomas has brought two major senior-housing developments before the town board for re-zone requests recently. According to state records, his company primarily contributed to Republicans prior to 2005;

— Wein, Young, Fenton & Kelsey, the law firm used by the town as it explored allegations against former police chief James Murley;

— Murphy, Burns, Barber & Murphy, the law firm that zoning board chairman Peter Barber is a partner of and which has done work for the town;

— Feeney, Centi, & Mackey, the law firm that represented Bosworth when he sued then chairman of the Albany County Democratic Committee, Frank Commisso. Partner Daniel Centi is the husband of Town Clerk Rosemary Centi, and partner Dennis Feeney is running as a Democrat for the Albany County Legislature;

— Platform Realty Group, which presented the town board with plans for the $100 million Glass Works Village;

— Boswell Engineering, the town-designated engineer;

— Clough Harbor and Associates; Delaware Engineering; and Vollmer Associates, LLP; all engineering firms that hold or have held contracts with the town; and

— Galesi Group, which owns the Northeastern Industrial Park in Guilderland Center.

When asked about donations from local developers and law firms that do business with the town, Runion said he doesn’t keep track of contributors and it does not influence town contracts.
"I don’t even look where the contributions are coming from; they don’t send the checks to me," Runion said. "To be honest," he said of his campaign account, "I can’t even write a check"out of it."

Republican challenger for town board Mark Grimm responded through The Enterprise saying, "Any politician who says they don’t look at who’s giving money is crazy"We’re talking bald-faced lying."

Grimm has raised nearly $10,000 for his town-board bid, with a large chunk of contributions coming from relatives and out-of-town contributors. He said too many of the town’s elected officials accept money from special-interest groups.

Republican challenger Warren Redlich said he has accepted no campaign contributions and has spent little money out-of-pocket. He said he has moral and ethical objections to fund-raising and, because he only spent around $300, he was not required to file financial disclosure reports with the state.

Bosworth said fund-raising is necessary but that the process needs to be looked at. He has around $1,400 and will hold a fund-raiser before the election. Incumbent Democratic Councilman Michael Ricard said he has not held a fund-raiser and he is not financially obligated to anyone. He has little more than $400 left of the $1,500 he put in.

Ricard spent roughly half of his $1,500 paying for filing fees and legal fees in a court case against Redlich earlier in the campaign season. Peter Barber, the town’s zoning board chairman, represented Ricard in two court proceedings against Redlich and two payments to Murphy, Burns, Barber & Murphy, Barber’s law firm, were made in September and October.

Ricard challenged the legality of Redlich’s petition to be on the ballot, claiming he used the wrong forms and his second petition was late.

Redlich is currently on the ballot, on the Republican line, according to the Albany County Board of Elections, but his petition to be on the ballot could still be invalidated before Nov. 6.

Finance philosophies
Bosworth said he takes issue with the current campaign fund-raising system and hopes that public campaign financing will be the "wave of the future." In the meantime, however, Bosworth said that he tries to make his finances as transparent as possible.
"I make it very clear that anything given in contributions is disclosed," Bosworth said of his contributors. "That helps to keep it in line and above suspicion."

He said he wants to avoid any possible conflicts of interest.
Grimm, who has raised the most money in 2007, points to contributions to town Democrats as a prime example of why he is running for office and what he calls the town’s "pay to play" mentality.
"I have not taken a single penny from special-interest groups or political parties," Grimm said. "It’s part of what’s wrong with the political system"That’s why it’s so hard for challengers."

Grimm defined a special-interest group as any organization that has an active interest or business relationship with the town.

According to Grimm’s New York State Financial Disclosure records, his contributors include Friends of John Faso, a former Republican gubernatorial candidate and state assemblyman; Alexander Tredwell, the New York State Republican chairman; and Peter Kermani, the Albany County Republican chairman.

Grimm previously worked for Faso and he described Tredwell and Kermani as personal friends, both of whom wrote personal checks to Grimm’s campaign. Some town businesses have donated to Grimm’s campaign.

Edward Swyer, a managing officer of Stuyvesant Plaza, contributed $250 to both Grimm and Supervisor Runion. Stuyvesant Plaza Inc. also contributed $125 to the Guilderland Democratic Committee.
Bosworth said that money donated to the political parties are used to support candidates of that party and donations to individual candidates are used to offset the cost of running a campaign. It is a roughly "50-50 split," he added.
Bosworth said campaigns have become "too expensive."
"More and more, you see people using their personal finances," he said. "It’s all very expensive and it limits the pool of potential candidates"That’s why many people are hesitant to get into politics."

Runion said that having to run every two years, he has to do fund-raising, but added that being unopposed last year and this year helps to keep costs down.
"Most political fund-raisers are done through some sort of ticket-sale event," said Runion, who prefers breakfast events as opposed to Bosworth’s evening events. "Tickets are generally around $75"I usually don’t get general contributions."
Runion said that, when he was the town’s Republican chair "in a former life," the GOP would sell $10 tickets to cocktail parties.
"As a general rule, I don’t think people just write a check without some form of event," he said.

The supervisor said that a committee and a treasurer oversee his campaign spending. His treasurer is Patricia Slavick, who is also a town board member. In September, Slavick lost her primary challenge for Albany County Comptroller against incumbent Michael Conners.
While Slavick was running, Runion contributed over $4,000 to her campaign in "in-kind contributions." Runion said he paid for some bulk mailing using campaign funds.
"I back other candidates who I feel who are doing a good job in the position that they hold"or feel that they will make a good candidate," Runion said. "I make a number of contributions to various committees"I do large numbers of contributions over the course of the year to a variety of offices on the local, state, and federal level."

Runion has made a number of contributions to the Democratic, Independence, and Working Families parties, as well as individual candidates, according to his financial disclosure statements.
The $12,000 currently in the "Friends of Ken Runion" account, are "a culmination of five campaigns," said the supervisor.

The state maintains all financial disclosures from candidates who file. It can be found on-line at www.elections.state.ny.us.