Showing posts with label political ethics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label political ethics. Show all posts

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Mark-Viverito, Garodnick, Weprin Skirting Campaign Finance Law, Ethics

Update ! Melissa Mark-Viverito Lobbyist Firm Never Quit, Continued Lobbying Despite Investigations (Mise à jour : samedi 21 déc. 2013 14:45)

Melissa Mark-Viverito is not alone in skirting ethical edge in race for speaker.

Scott Levenson, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Daniel Garodnick, Mark Weprin : Call the ethics cops : Running for speaker in a race without rules

From the Editorial Board of The New York Daily News : Call the ethics cops : Running for speaker in a race without rules :

Would-be Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has stopped accepting freebie consulting services from a lobbyist whose clients would come begging to her as boss of the municipal legislature. Well, duh.

Mark-Viverito had to distance herself from influence-trader Scott Levenson as she seeks to rise from councilmember representing East Harlem and parts of the Bronx to the city’s second most powerful post. Her coziness with Levenson put Mark-Viverito on the wrong side of ethics rules, demands investigation by the Conflicts of Interest Board and should rule her out of consideration for speaker.

Meanwhile, Mark-Viverito and competitors are playing money games in the race for the speakership. There’s no public election for this job. Guided by Democratic county leaders, the Council will vote one of its members into the position. It’s an insiders’ play — one not fully covered by the city’s campaign finance rules.

Mark-Viverito has opened a campaign account under state regulations. She is apparently accepting contributions and apparently paying different consultants to advance her cause. Who’s giving her money and who’s getting her money will not be disclosed until after the speaker’s contest is settled.

At the same time, hopefuls Dan Garodnick of Manhattan and Mark Weprin of Queens are dipping into campaign accounts to give tens of thousands of dollars to fellow councilmembers and party organizations.

None of this is acceptable.

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Rudin Corrupt St. Vincent's Luxury Condo Deal Caused Intern To Quit Christine Quinn Mayoral Campaign

The $30,000 in campaign donations, which Rudin Management Company funneled to New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn before the New York City Council had to vote on the luxury condo conversion plan for St. Vincent's Hospital, so disgusted an intern, that he quit Christine Quinn's mayoral campaign.

Ed May 1, 2013 at 9:43 AM
I was an intern for christine quinn and this post prompted me to quit, I really appreciate you getting the truth out

Friday, April 19, 2013

City Council Community Outreach Does Campaign Outreach For Christine Quinn

The Community Outreach Unit of the New York City Council, a taxpayer-financed office that has organized rallies to protect student subway discounts and sponsored adult education fairs, frequently functions as something else as well: a publicity and public relations machine for Christine C. Quinn. Read more : City Council’s Outreach Unit, Run by Quinn, Mainly Benefits Her Campaign

The New York Times described the Community Outreach Unit, a taxpayer-financed group of many political operatives, as almost entirely focused on propping up Speaker Quinn's political image, which would benefit her mayoral campaign.

"Inside the community outreach office recently, there was a photograph of Ms. Quinn handing a plaque to Whoopi Goldberg. Below, a dry erase board bore reminders about two coming events the group helped organize: a breakfast for women of faith and a celebration of Irish culture. Ms. Quinn was the featured speaker at both. At the Irish event, the unit’s workers escorted to their seats prominent Irish-American families, including relatives of Thomas Manton, the former chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, whose backing was crucial to Ms. Quinn’s election as speaker," The New York Times reported.

This isn't the first time Speaker Quinn has been accused of using taxpayer money for her campaign.

A former deputy chief of staff to Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn who recently served as a top aide to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s re-election effort has been fined for violating city law by soliciting campaign contributions for Ms. Quinn while working for her.

In announcing the sanction on Monday, the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board said in a statement that around April 2007, the former aide, Maura Keaney, made between six and a dozen phone calls to union representatives to ask them to be on the host committee for a fund-raising event for Ms. Quinn’s re-election bid. The ethics board, which fined Ms. Keaney $2,500, noted that serving on the host committee required a campaign contribution. (NYTimes : Ethics Panel Fines Ex-Aide to Speaker)

Moreover, the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, a nonprofit group, which has publicly supported Speaker Quinn's campaign platform for several years, requested $100,000 in City Council slush funds for each of the past three years to advocate for Speaker Quinn. By admission of the office of Speaker Quinn, these funds were granted by Speaker Quinn. (WSJ : City Grants Aids Quinn Campaign)