GUILDERLAND — Are developers, Realtors, and Crossgates Mall buying influence with their contributions to the Guilderland Democratic Committee?

That’s the question being asked by the largest individual donor to the two candidates who are challenging the Deomocratic Committee’s two choices.

In the ongoing Democratic primary — a first for Guilderland — both sides are running as teams: Kevin McDonald and Christine Napierski are challenging Amanda Beedle and incumbent Councilman Paul Pastore. 

In a letter to the Enterprise editor this week, Guilderland resident Gordon McClelland writes in part, “Developers and other firms that do business with the town of Guilderland are contributing to the Guilderland Democratic Committee, which in turn is now paying for advertising for their endorsed candidates running for Guilderland Town Board: Paul Pastore and Amanda Beedle ….

“So indirectly developers and other firms are financing the Guilderland Democratic Committee’s chosen candidates.”

In response to McClelland’s letter, Guilderland Democratic Committee Chairman Jacob Crawford said, “I reject any accusation that somebody’s going to try to tie campaign dollars to any one issue, because that’s not how it works,” he said. “And that’s not how the committee will ever operate.”

It’s not accurate that the party accepts contributions only from developers and realtors, Crawford said, “We accept donations from anyone that’s willing to give money to the Democratic Party.”

The Guilderland Democratic Committee has accepted contributions from unions, small businesses, and large businesses, he said. “We’ve accepted money from just everyday Democrats; we’ve accepted money from those that are registered to vote in every party,” said Crawford.

Calling it “the lifeblood of politics,” Crawford said the party has to be able to pay for literature to get its message out about the candidates the Democrats have endorsed. 

The Guilderland Democratic Committee has received $5,000 in contributions from Crossgates since 2015 — two $1,000 contributions in 2015; and one contribution of $1,000 each in 2017, 2018, 2019, according to state Board of Elections records. Pastore received one $500 contribution from Crossgates in 2017. 

Between 2015 and 2021, the town’s Democratic committee received nearly $77,000 in candidate transfers and contributions from individuals, political parties, and businesses, among others. Candidate transfers accounted for  $19,000 of the $77,000 in contributions.

Crawford noted that, since 2005, Guilderland Democrats received close to $250,000 in contributions and Crossgates accounted for a small percentage of that quarter-million dollars, about 2 percent. 

McClelland addressed candidate transfers in his letter as well.

“It’s not unusual for political parties to provide some support to their endorsed candidates, but typically I don’t think they pay for the entire campaign,” he wrote. 

Crawford called the transfers “committee transfers.”

He said, when there are multiple party-endorsed candidates running, it’s easier and more economical to combine the costs of literature and campaign signs. That way, when the bill comes due, it’s a single bill sent to the party rather than the company having to split it five or six different ways. He added that both major political parties do it.

Pastore transferred $5,000 to the Guilderland Democrats this cycle; Beedle has sent $2,500. 

Beedle has raised about $6,500 this year.

Pastore has received $300.01 in contributions this cycle, but has been able to rely on a large campaign war chest. Pastore’s committee account, Friends Of Paul Pastore, showed a closing balance of about $9,000, according to the committee’s 11-day pre-primary filing with the state Board of Elections. 

Kevin McDonald has received about $5,000 in donations.

He received $500 spread over two $250 contributions from McClelland, who, along with one other $500 contributor, is McDonald’s largest individual donor.

With a $500 contribution, McClelland is also Napierski’s largest individual donor.

Asked about being the largest individual contributor to Napierski and McDonald and not disclosing it in his letter to the editor, McClelland said that he didn’t think it was important or that big of a deal not to disclose. But he also said of the letter to the editor, “Feel free to add a footnote or add anything you want, in terms of anything that’s factual.”

“All kinds of individuals make all kinds of donations to these campaigns,” McClelland said. “I’m not a corporation. I’m not a developer. I don’t have any self-interest,” he said, reiterating that he has “no personal interests to gain by contributing to their campaigns.”

McClelland said he contributed to Napierski and McDonald because he thinks “they’re willing to take on the corporations and the developers that have greased these other candidates who sit on the boards.”

He added that he thought the town administration should not be defending the Pyramid projects in court. It should be looking out for the residents like New York State supreme Court Judge Peter Lynch did in his decision. 

“The judge was quite clear,” he said; his decision “came down ... on the side of the residents.”

Napierski has taken in about $3,000 in contributions, but has lent her campaign $10,000.

“It is very expensive to run a campaign,” she told The Enterprise, “and I’m not getting any money from the Guilderland Democratic Committee to do it.”

It’s a short primary, Napierski said, adding, “I have to use my own money or raise money and [I] don’t want to spend a lot of time raising money; I want to get out the vote. So that’s what I’m doing.”

Napierski lent her campaign the money so it would be able to buy things like advertising, flyers, and mailers, she said, “And just to have the funds that I needed in order to run this campaign.” She said that she doesn’t want to ask for money from big donors, and that she’s only asking contributors for small-dollar donations.