By Adam Kramer
Democratic mayoral candidate Alan Hevesi received his matching funds from the Campaign Finance Board last Thursday, but only after he agreed to pay his political consultant Hank Morris $250,000.
Hevesi was the only Democratic mayoral candidate not to receive his campaign matching funds on Aug. 6 — the first time the board doled out money — because the board thought he was trying to skirt the program’s rules and regulations by having Morris work as a “volunteer.”
Ten days later the board released $2,641,247 in matching funds to the Hevesi camp. The maximum a mayoral candidate can receive is $2,877,050 and there is a spending cap of $5,231,000 for the primary election and for the general election.
Morris, a seasoned political consultant, ran the campaign of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) in his 1998 victory over former Republican U.S. Rep. Al D’Amato. He has been a friend of the comptroller for more than 30 years and is the owner of Morris, Carrick & Guma, a political consulting firm.
The agreement between the Campaign Finance Board and Hevesi calls for him to pay Morris $250,000, which includes the cost of running a campaign and a percentage of the placement fees the firm receives from his political advertising. Normally the placement fees ranges from 10 percent to 15 percent of the ad’s buy cost.
The Campaign Finance Board came up with the dollar figure by looking at what consultants usually get for running a high-profile campaign. Nevertheless, the 10 percent Hevesi must pay to comply with the Campaign Finance Board’s decision is on the low end of the scale.
Hevesi campaign officials did not return phone calls for comment on the board’s ruling.
“The Hevesi campaign attempted to play fast and loose with the nation’s best campaign finance laws and they got caught,” said Mattis Goldman, a spokesman for Democratic rival Peter Vallone (D-Astoria), a mayoral candidate and the city council speaker. “This is a $250,000 rebuke of the Hevesi campaign. Now that the Campaign Finance Board has ruled, we hope his campaign will commit itself to follow the rules.”
As of the last filing date, Hevesi had outspent the other Democratic candidates by about $900,000. He had laid out $3,347,821, while Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer spent $2,469,662; Public Advocate Mark Green shelled out $1,910,192; and Vallone spent $1,714,526.
Rev. Joseph O’Hare, chairman of the Campaign Finance Board, said the board withheld the payment during the first round because of some uncertainty over the contract worked out between Morris and Hevesi. He said the board told Hevesi that the relationship between his campaign and his political consultant was “not acceptable.”
“I think they tried, as every campaign does, to stretch the boundaries of the law,” O’Hare said. “They tried in a way that might have been a little more inventive than some others, but in the end proved to be unpersuasive.”
The compensation paid by the Hevesi camp to Morris’ firm covers the media buy, Morris’ services and office expenses, he said.
“The board found that the owner of a political consulting firm could not be a volunteer,” said O’Hare. “He could not volunteer for Hevesi when his firm was in contract with Hevesi.”
The city matches donations by $4 to $1 for donations up to $250 by city residents. The campaign finance program limits individual contributions to a mayoral campaign to $4,500.
Ferrer has received $2,135,750, Green has gotten $2,670,126 and Vallone was given $2,356,270.
On the Republican ticket, media mogul and billionaire Michael Bloomberg is not participating in the program and former Bronx Borough President Herman Badillo has not raised enough money to qualify.
The matching fund program was designed to lessen the influence of campaign contributors, level the playing field and make the information on the candidates’ finances readily accessible.
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
