As upcoming elections draw near, the stakes are high and the incumbents seem to have the advantage with at least one group of campaign contributors.
Political Action Committees, organizations formed to donate directly to candidates, frequently contribute to returning candidates rather than their challengers, according to reports filed with the state Board of Elections.
In the four contested races for state Legislature seats representing parts of Cayuga County, incumbents received nearly $90,000 from PACs from July 1 through Oct. 5. Their challengers brought in a combined $250.
The situation plays out across the state, according to good government groups. Incumbents often get more donations from PACs because the committees like to bet on what looks like a sure thing, and incumbents almost always win, said Blair Horner, legislative director for the New York Public Interest Research Group.
Some organizations such as NYPIRG and Common Cause believe that this gives returning candidates an unfair advantage over their challengers. The large amount of money donated to incumbents makes it nearly impossible for the people with average resources to run for office, said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/New York.
“It is an indication that Albany is a pay-to-play culture,” Horner said. “It's part of a system that denies New Yorkers competitive elections.”
The term “Political Action Committee” was developed “to address provisions that are found in state elections law that deal with committees that do not make independent expenditures in a campaign but only make contributions,” said Robert Brehm, deputy director of public information for the state Board of Elections.
Between July 1 and Oct. 5, Sens. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, and David Valesky, D-Oneida, received $35,050 and $40,510 from PACs, respectively. Nozzolio's opponent, Paloma Capanna, received $250 during the same time period, while Valesky's opponent, James DiStefano, received no money at all. The same situation can be seen with the state Assembly candidates. Assemblyman Gary Finch received $4,750 in PAC donations between July 1 and Oct. 5 and Assemblyman Brian Kolb received a total of $9,023 in donations. Both of their opponents did not receive any PAC contributions.
“The vast majority of incumbents are either unchallenged or
minimally challenged and a vast majority of them are returned to office. Our system needs significant overhaul so that there's more competition on the ballot, citizens have more of a choice and there are fewer barriers being able to run a meaningful campaign if you are a challenger,” Lerner said.
The current system is discouraging people from running against incumbents, and it makes citizens cynical of the election system, Lerner said.
For PACs, the donations are almost like a business proposition in which incumbents almost always win, Horner said.
“The strategy of PACs is to ingratiate themselves with the winners because ultimately, the winners are the people who will vote on the proposals that the PAC is interested (in),” he said.
DiStefano, who is running for state Senate against Valesky, said that these donations are just a fact of life. But he also sees a positive side to it for his side.
“They're beholden to the people who donate the money to them,” DiStefano said. “That's one advantage that you have as a challenger, nobody's giving you any money ... so, therefore, you're beholden to nobody and so you can go in there and really do the people's business.”
Capanna, who is challenging Sen. Nozzolio for his seat in the Senate, said PAC donations reflect incumbents pandering to special interest groups.
“You can look at his contribution list and look at his votes in the New York state Senate, and they are a direct match, ” she said. “He does not represent the interest of the voters or the taxpayers.”
Capanna said that she started her campaign with a commitment to lower political action donations and while she has accepted donations from a few, as well as other sources, she personally screened all of the people interested in donating to her campaign.
“It is time for New York to adopt public funding” as the way for financing campaigns, Capanna said.
Her campaign has functioned as if it was publicly funded. Individual contributions were limited to $1,000 with approximately 1,000 people contributing, she said.
Sen. Nozzolio's spokesman Justin McCarthy does not see donations from PACs as a bad thing.
“We're extremely gratified that Sen. Nozzolio's hard work and his record of getting results for the people he serves has generated overwhelming support from thousands of individuals and hundreds organizations throughout New York state,” McCarthy said. “It would appear that Ms. Capanna, who has accepted Political Action Committee contributions throughout her campaign, is somewhat resentful that Sen. Nozzolio is receiving so much more support.”
The bigger question is the role of money in politics, said Valesky, and it is one of the reasons that he has been a strong supporter of comprehensive campaign finance laws.
“We ought to look at meaningful reform that would include contribution limits,” Valesky said.
When asked why he accepted more than $40,000 in donations from Political Action Committees between the months of July and October, Valesky said that the vast majority of contributions toward his campaign come from individuals and organizations in Central New York.
“We ought to go beyond the current structure of our campaign finance laws,” he said.
Officials from NYPIRG and Common Cause agree that change is necessary.
Horner suggested lowering the campaign contribution limits as well as creating a system of public financing. Both would “give average New Yorkers a chance to campaign.”
Lerner believes that three major changes need to take place. First, the state needs to change the way district lines are drawn, she said. This will be done after the 2010 election.
“What usually happens is that this is an incumbency protection game,” Lerner said about the current method. “Lines are drawn to move a challenger out of the district.”
Instead, Lerner suggested that lines need to be drawn on a different basis than the current way of keeping the incumbent safe from opponents.
The second change that needs to take place is to make New York state elections publicly funded.
“Public funding of elections helps members of the community decide that they can legitimately and effectively run for office,” she said.
And finally, Lerner indicated that the state needs to change the way people get on the ballot. It is too difficult and it is controlled much too tightly by the party apparatus.
“Without these three changes,” she said, “New York state discourages people who want to run from running.”
Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
In the four contested races for state Legislature seats representing parts of Cayuga County, incumbents received nearly $90,000 from PACs from July 1 through Oct. 5. Their challengers brought in a combined $250.
The situation plays out across the state, according to good government groups. Incumbents often get more donations from PACs because the committees like to bet on what looks like a sure thing, and incumbents almost always win, said Blair Horner, legislative director for the New York Public Interest Research Group.
Some organizations such as NYPIRG and Common Cause believe that this gives returning candidates an unfair advantage over their challengers. The large amount of money donated to incumbents makes it nearly impossible for the people with average resources to run for office, said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause/New York.
“It is an indication that Albany is a pay-to-play culture,” Horner said. “It's part of a system that denies New Yorkers competitive elections.”
The term “Political Action Committee” was developed “to address provisions that are found in state elections law that deal with committees that do not make independent expenditures in a campaign but only make contributions,” said Robert Brehm, deputy director of public information for the state Board of Elections.
Between July 1 and Oct. 5, Sens. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, and David Valesky, D-Oneida, received $35,050 and $40,510 from PACs, respectively. Nozzolio's opponent, Paloma Capanna, received $250 during the same time period, while Valesky's opponent, James DiStefano, received no money at all. The same situation can be seen with the state Assembly candidates. Assemblyman Gary Finch received $4,750 in PAC donations between July 1 and Oct. 5 and Assemblyman Brian Kolb received a total of $9,023 in donations. Both of their opponents did not receive any PAC contributions.
“The vast majority of incumbents are either unchallenged or
minimally challenged and a vast majority of them are returned to office. Our system needs significant overhaul so that there's more competition on the ballot, citizens have more of a choice and there are fewer barriers being able to run a meaningful campaign if you are a challenger,” Lerner said.
The current system is discouraging people from running against incumbents, and it makes citizens cynical of the election system, Lerner said.
For PACs, the donations are almost like a business proposition in which incumbents almost always win, Horner said.
“The strategy of PACs is to ingratiate themselves with the winners because ultimately, the winners are the people who will vote on the proposals that the PAC is interested (in),” he said.
DiStefano, who is running for state Senate against Valesky, said that these donations are just a fact of life. But he also sees a positive side to it for his side.
“They're beholden to the people who donate the money to them,” DiStefano said. “That's one advantage that you have as a challenger, nobody's giving you any money ... so, therefore, you're beholden to nobody and so you can go in there and really do the people's business.”
Capanna, who is challenging Sen. Nozzolio for his seat in the Senate, said PAC donations reflect incumbents pandering to special interest groups.
“You can look at his contribution list and look at his votes in the New York state Senate, and they are a direct match, ” she said. “He does not represent the interest of the voters or the taxpayers.”
Capanna said that she started her campaign with a commitment to lower political action donations and while she has accepted donations from a few, as well as other sources, she personally screened all of the people interested in donating to her campaign.
“It is time for New York to adopt public funding” as the way for financing campaigns, Capanna said.
Her campaign has functioned as if it was publicly funded. Individual contributions were limited to $1,000 with approximately 1,000 people contributing, she said.
Sen. Nozzolio's spokesman Justin McCarthy does not see donations from PACs as a bad thing.
“We're extremely gratified that Sen. Nozzolio's hard work and his record of getting results for the people he serves has generated overwhelming support from thousands of individuals and hundreds organizations throughout New York state,” McCarthy said. “It would appear that Ms. Capanna, who has accepted Political Action Committee contributions throughout her campaign, is somewhat resentful that Sen. Nozzolio is receiving so much more support.”
The bigger question is the role of money in politics, said Valesky, and it is one of the reasons that he has been a strong supporter of comprehensive campaign finance laws.
“We ought to look at meaningful reform that would include contribution limits,” Valesky said.
When asked why he accepted more than $40,000 in donations from Political Action Committees between the months of July and October, Valesky said that the vast majority of contributions toward his campaign come from individuals and organizations in Central New York.
“We ought to go beyond the current structure of our campaign finance laws,” he said.
Officials from NYPIRG and Common Cause agree that change is necessary.
Horner suggested lowering the campaign contribution limits as well as creating a system of public financing. Both would “give average New Yorkers a chance to campaign.”
Lerner believes that three major changes need to take place. First, the state needs to change the way district lines are drawn, she said. This will be done after the 2010 election.
“What usually happens is that this is an incumbency protection game,” Lerner said about the current method. “Lines are drawn to move a challenger out of the district.”
Instead, Lerner suggested that lines need to be drawn on a different basis than the current way of keeping the incumbent safe from opponents.
The second change that needs to take place is to make New York state elections publicly funded.
“Public funding of elections helps members of the community decide that they can legitimately and effectively run for office,” she said.
And finally, Lerner indicated that the state needs to change the way people get on the ballot. It is too difficult and it is controlled much too tightly by the party apparatus.
“Without these three changes,” she said, “New York state discourages people who want to run from running.”
Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net
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Farmer's Gal wrote on Oct 12, 2008 5:28 AM:
Makes it VERY hard for an honest and un-influenced new comer to break into office, but it's in our best interests to vote the incumbents out and give a shot to some folks who aren't already bought and paid. "