By Adam Kramer
The first round of public funding for the city council elections was handed out last week, but fewer than 44 percent of the Queens candidates participating in the New York City Campaign Finance Board’s matching fund program received checks.
Of the 55 Queens candidates who face a primary in the race for one of the borough’s 14 city council seats, 24 qualified for payments on Aug. 6 when the Campaign Finance Board handed out the first series of funds to those who qualified for the program.
“There are a few reasons why candidates were not paid their matching funds,” said Frank Barry, a spokesman for the Campaign Finance Board.
He said council candidates do not receive a check if they are knocked off the ballot, do not meet the fund-raising threshold of $5,000, fail to attract 50 contributors, file their papers later or are not in compliance with the board’s guidelines.
Non-compliant candidates are those who have not returned over-the-limit contributions, received corporate contributions or gotten contributions from a non-registered political action committee.
But candidates who missed out on the first round of public funding could still get a check if they meet the compliance standards before the Sept. 7 primary, Barry said.
The 24 Queens candidates received a total of $1,584,614 in matching funds from the city. For the 31 candidates participating in the program who did not receive their matching funds contribution, the next payment dates are scheduled for Aug. 16, Aug. 31 and Sept. 7. But Barry said some interim payments might be made.
“The purpose of the law is to put everybody on an even keel,” said City Council Speaker Peter Vallone (D-Astoria), a mayoral candidate himself, who led the fight for the campaign finance law.
“The whole purpose is fairness, and that’s the way this all will eventually work out,” he said. “We should all have the same amount of money, and I think it’s all working out that way now.”
All 14 of the borough’s city council seats are up for grabs because term limits have prevented Queens’ incumbents from seeking re-election. Initially 100 Queens residents had signed up for the program, the most in the five boroughs, but through challenges to their campaign, lack of funds or lack of support, only 73 candidates from the borough are still participating in the matching fund program.
“It will severely affect anyone who doesn’t get the money because you have to get a mailing out,” Vallone said. “If it’s a local council race, forget the television — that does not help you. Forget the radio — it’s just a waste of money. What helps you is direct voter contact, and that means mailing.”
Any candidate who wanted to receive $4 for every $1 raised under the matching funds program had to file his or her paperwork with the Campaign Finance Board by June 1. The city will match contributions up to $250 from city residents. This means that for a $250 contribution a candidate will receive $1,000 from the city.
According to a statement from the Campaign Finance Board, the program was implemented to make candidates and the elected officials “more responsive” to residents of New York City rather than special interest groups and to give candidates without the ability to raise “big money” a fighting chance.
The program was also designed to lessen the influence of campaign contributors on the candidates, level the playing field and make the information on the candidates’ finances more accessible.
The 24 Queens council candidates who received the first public funds payouts were: Joseph Addabbo; Tony Avella; James Blake; Robert Cermeli; Ethel Chen; Joseph Conley, Jr.; Helen A Cooper-Gregory; Matthew Farrell; James Gennaro; Eric Gioia; Barry Grodenchik; Jerry Iannece; Chris Jorge; Melinda Katz; Michael Kearney; John Liu; David Reich; Luis Rosero; Linda Sansivieri; Joyce Shepard; Jairam Thakral; Peter F Vallone Jr.; James Van Bramer; and David I Weprin.
Dustin Brown contributed to this story
Reach reporter Adam Kramer by e-mail at Timesledger@aol.com or call 229-0300, Ext. 157.
