Peter Sikora running away from failed LICH promises, de Blasio exploitation cover-up

Peter Sikora, Bill de Blasio, and lobbying firm BerlinRosen each using LICH for political expediency

BerlinRosen is the corrupt lobbying firm working behind the scenes for each of Sikora, de Blasio, and the Campaign for One New York astroturf group Candidate Peter Sikora, who is running for the New York State Assembly seat of retiring Assemblywoman Joan Millman, is hiding from voters angry over the controversial closure of Long Island College Hospital -- contrary to a lot of lip service by politicians, including Mayor Bill de Blasio and Mr. Sikora himself. One of Mr. Sikora's opponents in the Democratic Party's primary for the Assembly seat, Doug Biviano, posted a press release on his campaign Web site, drawing attention to the candidates "not holding debates." Mr. Biviano charges that Mr. Sikora's campaign consultants, BerlinRosen, have been acting behind-the-scenes to do damage control for Mayor de Blasio and Mr. Sikora over the luxury condo conversion plan for LICH. The firm BerlinRosen works as Mayor de Blasio's media spokesmen, and BerlinRosen also manages the mayor's nonprofit political arm, the Campaign for One New York, which mailed a deceptive flyer meant to invoke the stature of the Carroll Garden Association with misleading information, trying to sell Brooklyn residents on the benefits of the luxury condo conversion of LICH. "Those institutions who claim to serve and protect our community are allowing the lobbyist and consultant spin doctors working on my opponents' campaigns to keep the community uninformed enough to believe the lies in their special interests funded campaign flyers. Shame on them," Mr. Biviano said in the press release. Earlier this year, Councilman Stephen Levin credited Mr. Sikora with coming up with the publicity stunt to get arrested in front of cameras to try to keep LICH open. “At the time, the candidate who was third in the polls, candidate Bill de Blasio, said, ‘That’s a really good idea,’ ” Councilmember Stephen Levin told The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Contrary to the lip service by Mayor de Blasio and Mr. Sikora, LICH closed without either Mayor de Blasio or Mr. Sikora being held publicly accountable for having exploited LICH for their own selfish interests. As the date of the Democratic Party primary nears, the voters in the state's 52nd Assembly District, which includes some of the Brooklyn neighborhoods formerly served by LICH, will have to confront the harsh truth : why is Mr. Sikora running away from campaign debates with his opponents ? What is it about each of Mr. Sikora's record on LICH and the controversial role of BerlinRosen that he is trying to hide ?

RELATED Peter Sikora credited with coming up with election year stunt to get arrested to save LICH (The Brooklyn Daily Eagle) Alarm raised about ‘dark money’ in de Blasio’s LICH - Fortis letter (The Brooklyn Daily Eagle) de Blasio-allied group defends LICH luxury condo conversion deal to brownstone Brooklyn (Capital New York) Using political entities, operatives close to mayor exploit campaign finance regulations through ''pattern'' of activities (NYC : News & Analysis)

With Cuomo's Moreland trouble, will leftists finally vote in a Green Party candidate for governor ?

PUBLISHED : MON, 04 AUG 2014, 11:50 PM
UPDATED : TUES, 05 AUG 2014, 07:10 PM

As the federal investigation heats up into Cuomo's interference with the Moreland Commission, will the governor's popularity with voters collapse, costing him the election, or will the governor resign in disgrace to avoid federal criminal charges ?

Gov. Cuomo is either a lame candidate or one facing impending resignation. Will activists from New York's political left finally wake up to the corrupt 2-party system that is owned by Big Business donors and their lobbyists ? AS GOV. ANDREW CUOMO FACES A FEDERAL INVESTIGATION overlapping with the unfinished corruption probes by the now-defunct Moreland Commission, the race for governor falls to three possible contenders : Republican candidate Rob Astorino, Green Party candidate Howie Hawkins, and long-shot Democratic contender Zephyr Teachout, if she survives the challenge to her ballot qualification. According to a new poll released today, Gov. Cuomo's favorability ratings plunged by 5% in the first poll to be taken after escalating reports that the Cuomo administration steered the corruption investigations by the Moreland Commission away from his political supporters, many press reports indicate. Several individuals associated with the failed corruption-fighting panel or the Governor's Office have either been subpoenaed to testify before grand juries, willingly volunteered to meet with federal prosecutors, or are actively cooperating with federal prosecutors. The steady drip-drip-drip of revelations only points to a sinking future for Gov. Cuomo. The last time a big-name Democrat was an early front-runner in a campaign only to see her election thwarted was former New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. But former Speaker Quinn's campaign was doomed by a controversial Super PAC managed by the lobbying firm, The Advance Group. According to reports, The Advance Group may have coordinated the activities of the Super PAC to elect Bill de Blasio as mayor. Consequently, several investigations are now probing the relationship between The Advance Group, the Super PAC it managed, and the de Blasio campaign. The co-opting of the mayor's race to elect another closeted neoliberal Democrat as mayor resulted in the appointment of William Bratton, advocate of the neoconservative "Broken Windows" theory of policing, as police commissioner, the continued closing of community hospitals, and the blurring of the division of church and state with the mayor's reliance on churches to administer an expansion of universal pre-kinder, amongst a few examples of the conservative bent in the de Blasio administration. As Gov. Cuomo's political future appears to be headed in the same direction as former Council Speaker Quinn, or worse, will activists from the political left vote another official from the Democrat Party into office ? The Democratic Party is owned by some of the same big money donors as is the Republican Party. As soon as Democrats take office, they are swarmed by corrupt lobbyists and special interests, eventually forcing Democratic officeholders to keep exploiting the corrupt loopholes on special interest money. Witness the massive $35 million war chest that Gov. Cuomo has amassed from real estate and gambling interests. Campaign donations of that size only come with strings attached. Complicating matters for the Democratic challenger, Ms. Teachout, for example, is that she hails from the Working Families Party, itself the target of an investigation by a special prosecutor, who is probing into campaign corruption. This could be the year when activists vote into office a third party candidate untethered to the corrupt machinations of the corporate-controled, 2-party system. Can activists from the political left overcome the dumbed-down, local TV news broadcasts and organize behind Howie Hawkins from the Green Party ?

RELATED Crazed with anger, Cuomo fears the worst as first polls after scandal approach (The New York Post) Cuomo's Approval Ratings Down, Poll Shows (The Wall Street Journal) There's More ''Left,'' If You're Hungry -- For Change (NYC : News & Analysis) State’s biggest G.O.P. donors migrated to Cuomo (Capital New York) Special prosecutor issues new subpoenas in Working Families Party probe (Capital New York)

New revelations about possibly greater coordination between controversial anti-Quinn attack Super PAC and official campaigns

Anybody But Quinn Used Voter Info From Other Advance Group Campaigns : Sources

RELATED Anybody But Quinn Used Voter Info From Other Advance Group Campaigns: Sources (The New York Observer) Did New York State Election Officials Create a Dual Mandate Loophole to Campaign Finance Caps ? [UPDATED] (NYC : News & Analysis)

Somebody from the corrupt “Anybody But Quinn" Super PAC has leaked new information about possibly illegal campaign coordination to the reporter Will Bredderman of The New York Observer relating to how information sharing was done behind the scenes at The Advance Group. That customized voter registration information belonging to official campaigns was, inturn, used by the Super PAC adds to a pattern of coordination following revelations that campaign cash flowed circuitously amongst the Super PAC, its contributors, and the official campaigns managed by The Advance Group in the last election. As if that wasn't enough, many activists taking part in the Anybody But Quinn movement carried the banner for reforms to end Quinn-like government and campaign corruption. But as soon as the new mayor was elected, the entire Anybody But Quinn movement ceased their calls for reform, raising the obvious quesiton : what was the real intention of the Anybody But Quinn Super PAC, if it was not to press for reforms of the broken political system ? It's getting ugly, but it's only when the system turns against itself, as demonstrated by the leaker of these latest revelations that voter registration information was shared, that voters find out the real truth about the duplicitious role of dubious campaign consultants, lobbyists, and other political operatives in setting up corruptive Super PAC structures, and controversies such as these are the only things that can lead to reforms to end the corruptive role of Super PAC's in our elections system. But more people need to join the call to press Mayor Bill de Blasio to make good on his outstanding campaign promises made during last year's mayoral campaign to further reform the city's campaign finance system. "The important thing is to respect the fact that we may not like the way the law is, but it's the law," Mr. de Blasio said last year after he was confronted with questions over a controversial Super PAC's attack TV ads against former Council Speaker Christine Quinn. "I certainly will put energy going forward into trying to further reform the campaign finance system," he added, but Mr. de Blasio has so far failed to keep true to his campaign promise to reform the city's corrupt campaign finance laws. Here's an opportunity to use the growing campaign finance controversy engulfing The Advance Group to press for reforms. Voters can make this opportunity work for them, to bring about reforms, but voters need to take action to demand that the mayor keep his campaign promises to reform and update the city's corrupt campaign finance laws that allow Super PAC's to exploit our elections system.

Using political entities, operatives close to mayor exploit campaign finance regulations through ''pattern'' of activities

PUBLISHED : FRI, 23 MAY 2014, 04:18 PM
UPDATED : TUES, 27 MAY 2014, 07:20 AM

Ongoing Levenson-Lewis-de Blasio political activities that may rise to be prohibited ?

RELATED Scott Levenson's campaign practices are damaging his brand, will it extend to his clients as well ? (Scrutiny of Advance, Levenson Heating Up * City & State) What is truly delaying the horse-drawn carriage ban : is it the lack of a draft legislative bill, or is it the federal definition of bribery ? (The Nexus of Campaign Donations, Super PAC's, and Legislation : de Blasio's Mayoral Race and the Delayed Horse-Drawn Carriage Ban [UPDATED] * NYC : News & Analysis)

Last year was the first time when the corrupt Citizens United Supreme Court decision allowed Super PAC’s to influence the municipal elections in New York City. One Super PAC, deceptively called Jobs For New York, spent millions that were largely funded by greedy real estate developers, who were trying to buy off politicians. But one lobbyist, in particular, Scott Levenson, exemplified the worst of Super PAC corruption. So far, one Super PAC and two political campaigns managed by Mr. Levenson have been fined for campaign finance violations, and the city’s campaign finance regulatory authority has indicated that more fines may follow. The facts surrounding the ongoing political activities of the campaign organizations maintained or controlled by Scott Levenson give rise to an « established pattern. » Now that the Campaign Finance Board has fined each of Mr. Levenson's Super PAC and the campaign committees of Councilmember Laurie Cumbo and Councilmember Mark Levine, rendering decisions that prohibited coordination took place between the Super PAC and official political campaigns, these determinations may have federal legal implications. The chair of the Campaign Finance Board, Rose Gill Hearn, has been criticized in the past for going soft on some investigations, but she may have shown, with these early Super PAC rulings, an « established pattern » of activites, whereby Mr. Levenson is mainintaing and controlling political entities for the apparent purpose of gaming New York City’s campaign finance regulations, activities, which include : possible extortion [FBI investigates whether animal rights group linked to Mayor Bill de Blasio's campaign EXTORTED his opponent over carriage horse ban * The Daily Mail (UK)] ; failing to disclose in-kind contributions (Mark-Viverito, an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from The Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her candidacy, a violation of city ethics rules. * The New York Daily News) ; using shell corporation to hide both his identity and assets (Teachers union paid $370K to fake consultant * Crain's New York Business) ; making conflicting statements to the press about his representation of an anti-gay attack Super PAC [“I didn’t do my due diligence.” (In Campaign, Cash Flowed Circuitously * The New York Times) vs. “We did a favor for a political operative." (Melissa Mark-Viverito's consulting firm choice may be hurting her Council Speaker bid * The New York Daily News)] ; double-timing his own client (Will LGBT Groups Protest Scott Levenson Over Anti-Gay Attack Ads ? * YouTube) ; raising money with help from politicians, who benefit from his activities (Bill de Blasio headlines fundraiser for anti-Quinn group * Crain's New York Business) ; and disguising possible transactions to manipulate campaign finance spending caps (City lawyer used office for politics, probe finds * Crain's New York Business). The situation for Mr. Levenson and his lobbying clients shouldn’t have been allowed to have become so severe. Mayor de Blasio had made a campaign promise to reform campaign finance laws, but the mayor hasn’t proposed any reforms. Indeed, he has no motivation to, not when he and his political operatives stand to gain so much from an ongoing pattern of political activities. The New York Post has reported that since 2001, the mayor’s political operatives, possibly including Bertha Lewis and others, have been conducting activities with the goal of electing Mr. de Blasio as mayor, a feat they finally achieved last year, possibly with the help of a Super PAC. The Super PAC administered by Mr. Levenson was called NYC Is Not For Sale, but it organized under the astroturf campaign called, Anybody But Quinn. The project to elect the mayor began not long after the Working Families Party was co-founded by Mr. de Blasio, Ms. Lewis, ACORN, several unions, and others. Ms. Lewis’s post-ACORN, post-New York Communities for Change organization is called The Black Institute, and she shares office space with Mr. Levenson, as did the now notorious Super PAC, which Mr. Levenson administered. Sometimes, all of their ongoing political activities appear just sufficiently distant from the mayor, and sometimes they don’t.

RELATED The close relationship between City Hall and the private firms attached to the UPKNYC effort has raised eyebrows amongst government reform activists due to the fact that the mayor continues to rely on large political donations after normal election cycles to advance his own political ambitions, which many see as separate from the many unpopular political decisions he faces as the city's new mayor. (Bill de Blasio’s Old Campaign Operations Live On, in One Form or Another * Politicker)

Once the mayoral race was over, the corruptive role of money in politics cycled out of the NYC Is Not For Sale and New York Jobs Now Committee Super PAC structures and into 501(c)(4) structures, just like money used to cycle from ACORN, to New York Communities for Change, to the Working Families Party, to NYCLASS, and to The Black Institute, depending on whether Mr. de Blasio was facing an election year, or not. How Mayor de Blasio directs the affairs of political entities is by making sure that they get staffed by operatives or lobbyists, who have pledged their loyalty to him. Once vetted, these operatives and lobbyists can be counted on to conduct and participate in the established pattern of activities most beneficial to the mayor. It was announced last week that the purpose of the UPKNYC 501(c)(4) organization was to evolve from advancing the mayor's universal pre-kinder agenda to now being basically a blank check political apparatus. The interchangeability and permeability of these "instruments" staffed by loyalists form the basis of the "enterprise" that allows the mayor, from a phantasmal distance, to essentially order others to do his political bidding. The mayor's political influence was extended across New York City after his administration installed the lobbying and consulting firm of Berlin Rosen, political operatives who worked on the mayor's campaign, in the media relations role of the mayor's universal pre-kinder initiative. Berlin Rosen maintained the universal pre-kinder messaging for the mayor this way. Berlin Rosen also serves as consultants to a coalition of major police reform groups, Communities United for Police Reform. The latter allows Berlin Rosen to again maintain the messaging coming from one of the mayor's most politically sensitive quarters : police reform activists. Tampering down police reform activists is all the more important to the mayor, especially after the NYPD continues to become embroiled in more racial profiled controversies. It was reported that another political insider and lobbying firm, Pitta Bishop, helped Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito with City Council staffing. In respect of City Council staffing, loyalists to the mayor being paid for by special interest donors act as gatekeepers for the mayor's agenda. Left out in the lurch as a consequence of the mayor's machinations are voters, who had no say in what the messaging was that came out of the universal pre-kinder reform movement. As for other reform movements in New York City, political operatives staffing the political entities working to further the mayor's political ambitions will first check with the mayor before announcing what the reelection-friendly reforms the mayor can approve. As the roles of money and lobbyists further corrupt government and fair elections, that corruption is only going to get worse, as New York state's campaign finance regulatory authority, the Board of Elections, has eliminated caps on political donations by individuals.

Anybody But Quinn Super PAC donor deflects questions about FBI investigation into campaign corruption

"I don’t have any comment on any of that."

Mayor Bill de Blasio's cousin, John Wilhelm, was the former leader of the union, UNITE HERE! The union made a large contribution of $175,000 to the animal rights group New Yorkers for Clean, Livable, and Safe Streets (NY-CLASS) on June 1, and, two days later, NY-CLASS regifted the same large contribution to a Super PAC that was funding a flood of TV attack ads against former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who was the leading Democratic mayoral primary candidate at the time. When Mr. Wilhelm was asked by The New York Daily News to identify who directed UNITE HERE! to make the donation to NY-CLASS, Mr. Wilhelm replied that he had "no comment."

• RELATED : John Wilhelm, labor leader and cousin of Bill de Blasio, avoids questions about role in $175,000 donation to NY-CLASS that funded an anti-Christine Quinn Super PAC, leading to the election of Mayor de Blasio. (The New York Daily News)
• RELATED : EXCLUSIVE : FBI investigating donations to NYCLASS from men close to Mayor de Blasio that may have been used toward anti-Christine Quinn campaigners. (The New York Daily News)
• RELATED : Animal rights group's exotic campaign finances (Crain's New York Business)

The size and timing of the union's campaign contribution are enough to raise questions about coordination between the mayor's cousin and the anti-Quinn attack Super PAC, but the way that UNITE HERE! structured the donation to pass-through NY-CLASS first in order to get to the anti-Quinn attack Super PAC raises further legal problems, because the pass-through contribution was cloaked in "anonymity for months," The New York Daily News reported. NY-CLASS wasn't required to disclose UNITE HERE!'s contribution until NY-CLASS "began its own campaign spending, an event that occurred on Sept. 7, three days before the Sept. 10 mayoral primary." The $175,000 was practically hidden from voters and activists autonomously working to defeat former Speaker Quinn's mayoral campaign, because NY-CLASS "disclosed the contributions on Sept. 17, 10 days after the primary," The New York Daily News's report added. NY-CLASS's questionable finances have been the subject of a series of reports by Crain’s New York Business reporter Chris Bragg.

The union UNITE HERE! last triggered controversy when its former political director, Maura Keaney, was raising campaign donations from unions on behalf of former Speaker Quinn, even as Ms. Keany was working on municipal legislation involving unions. Ms. Keaney's actions were a "potential violation of the city’s conflicts of interest law," The New York Times reported at the time. At the conclusion of the city's investigation, Ms. Keaney was slapped on the wrist with a $2,500 fine to dispose of the corruption investigation into her political machinations. To dissipate political blow-back to Speaker Quinn, Ms. Keaney served on former Mayor Michael Bloomberg's 2009 reelection race. After Mayor Bloomberg won that election by a slim margin, he paid Ms. Keaney a lottery-sized bonus of $150,000, which more than made up for her ethics fine.

According to federal law, it is illegal for Super PAC's to coordinate their activities with official campaigns of politicians. Does handing off the same, sizable campaign contribution, apparently timed just right, through an intermediary meet the scrutiny test to prove coordination ?

Both NY-CLASS and the anti-Quinn Super PAC shared the same political lobbying firm, The Advance Group, which is headed by Scott Levenson, a political operative who further shares connections with Mayor de Blasio, given their long history of supporting the Working Families Party, one of the mayor's key political supporters. In the last election, Mr. Levenson further attracted scrutiny for possibly coordinating the 501(c)(4) political expenditures of NY-CLASS and other Super PAC monies with official political campaigns that he also managed in his capacity as a campaign consultant. The anti-Quinn Super PAC was known as NYC Is Not For Sale, but it organized under an astroturf campaign known as "Anybody But Quinn."

Bill de Blasio and Bill Rudin Community Betrayal ?

Has Mayor de Blasio turned his back on the community demand for a full-service hospital to replace St. Vincent's ?

Bill Rudin is one of the most corrupt real estate developers in New York City. He is the one, who basically foreclosed on St. Vincent's Hospital. He and his family paid off former Council Speaker Christine Quinn with $30,000 in campaign donations to look the other way. Has Bill Rudin found a way to pay off Mayor Bill de Blasio, too ?

• RELATED : Bill de Blasio may not like the condos Rudin Management is building in place of the old St. Vincent's Hospital, but that hasn't impacted his relationship with the developer's former lobbyist, James Capalino. (A former Rudin lobbyist volunteers for Bill de Blasio * Capital New York)
• RELATED : Last week, Mayor Bill de Blasio stopped by an Association for a Better New York power breakfast to pay respect to one his key real estate development supporters, Bill Rudin. (Mayor de Blasio Makes Surprise Stop at Bill Rudin's ABNY Power Breakfast * The New York Observer)

From the Demand A Hospital listserv :

Dear All :

Last year, Bill de Blasio demonstrated outside the construction site for the $1 billion Rudin luxury condo complex in order to burnish his appeal amongst the communities impacted by hospital closings. The theme of that protest was "Hospitals, Not Condos."

• LINK : Bill de Blasio to lead ‘Hospitals Not Condos’ rally at former St. Vincent’s site, with Belafonte, Sarandon, Cynthia Nixon, others (East Villager)

Furthermore, one of the NYC Is Not For Sale commercials that helped to elect Mayor de Blasio focused on the corrupt role of Bill Rudin's campaign donations to former Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

• LINK : New Super PAC ad blasts Christine Quinn for role in closing of St. Vincent’s Hospital (The New York Daily New)

But now that he's been elected, Mayor de Blasio is socializing with the very same corrupt real estate developer whose luxury condo conversion deal he once criticized.

• LINK : Bill Bratton, Bill de Blasio and Bill Rudin at an April 3 gala. (Crains).

Does this mean that Mayor de Blasio has turned his back on the community's demand for a full service hospital to replace St. Vincent's ?

Thanks for all that you do.

-- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --

Tell Gov. Andrew Cuomo to stop closing our hospitals : 1 (518) 474-8390

You can also tweet your concerns to Gov. Cuomo at : @NYGovCuomo

Cesspool of Political Corruption Will Only Get Worse Until Sheriff Preet Shuts It Down (Updated)

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SPECIAL NEWS UPDATE: FRI, 25 APR 2014, 09:50 AM

In the past few weeks, FBI agents have been asking questions about the campaign by the animal rights group NY-CLASS to strong arm former Council Speaker Christine Quinn (center) to support a ban on the iconic horse-drawn carriages, two sources familiar with the matter told The New York Daily News. The horse lobbyists in question include Scott Levenson, and they are linked to Mayor Bill de Blasio (inset). (FBI investigating claim that Christine Quinn was threatened by Scott Levenson for refusing to support carriage horse ban during the mayoral race * The New York Daily News)

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PUBLISHED : WED, 19 MAR 2014, 09:07 AM
UPDATED : FRI, 25 APR 2014, 05:40 PM

Super PAC's already lead to corruption, regardless whether annual individual contribution cap is kept at $150,000 or is raised.

Federal prosecutor crackdown on campaign finance corruption said to ensnare Rep. Michael Grimm http://t.co/8DiId2wbiO

— Informed Voting (@informedvoting) April 25, 2014

Campaign finance expert and Georgetown University government professor Clyde Wilcox added the authority of his expertise to a filing made by New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman in an effort to block a "Republican-backed political action committee to topple the state’s $150,000 annual contribution limit for individuals," The New York Daily News is reporting.

From yesterday MT @josephax: Era of the super PAC in New York? Judge strikes down NY limits http://t.co/wPt6EXfoB7

— Lawrence Hurley (@lawrencehurley) April 25, 2014

Professor Wilcox warned that many Super PAC's “would be closely linked to individual candidates or to political parties,” inviting quid-pro-quo corruption, The New York Daily News report added.

• RELATED : An effort to topple the state's $150,000 annual contribution limit for individuals poses 'a substantial risk of corruption,' says one expert. It could lead to an 'explosion' of huge contributions by uber-wealthy donors to the new super PACs if the cap is repealed. (EXCLUSIVE : New super PACs could lead to corruption if state law is repealed * The New York Daily News)
• RELATED : The animal rights group NY-CLASS has an edge in enacting its plan to replace horse carriages of Central Park with electric cars, because NY-CLASS played a key role in funding a million-dollar Super PAC, New York City Is Not for Sale, which helped sink former Council Speaker Christine Quinn in the mayoral election, a move, which benefitted the mayoral campaign of former Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. (Anti-carriage horse activists split on electric car alternative * Metro New York)
• RELATED : The independently-financed group that helped end former Council Speaker Christine Quinn's mayoral ambitions was fined by the Campaign Finance Board Thursday morning for failing to report expenditures. (Anti-Quinn Group Fined $7,050 by City's Campaign Finance Board * The New York Daily News)
• RELATED : Were possible coordination of Independent Expenditures and free gifts of lobbying services violations of federal laws ? Will the Moreland Commission investigate possible campaign corruption ? The Advance Group Federal Complaint Referred To Moreland Commission (NYC : News & Analysis)
• RELATED : Common Cause/NY calls for Super PACs to be required to disclose their top five donors on all public materials (Common Cause on NY Jobs Now contributors * The Times Union).
• RELATED : Extell George Arzt Moreland Commission Christine Quinn One57 Connections (Christine Quinn Sold Out)

NYC Is Not For Sale, "a coalition of left-leaning unions, Democratic donors and animal rights groups," according to a report by The New York Daily News, spent $1.1 million broadcasting several TV commercials that were critical of former Council Speaker Christine Quinn in an effort that ultimately boosted Public Advocate Bill de Blasio's mayoral campaign. As if validating Professor Wilcox's fears, in the days leading up to the general election last November, a Republican political activist filed a complaint with city campaign finance regulators, accusing Mr. de Blasio and key supporters of illegally coordinating the activities of the NYC Is Not For Sale Super PAC that spent more than $1 million attacking former Speaker Quinn in the Democratic primary race for mayor, The New York Post reported.

As it stands, city and state campaign finance regulators are being pressed by wealthy campaign contributors, big business interests, and corrupt lobbyists to weaken campaign reform laws under the false guise that caps on contributions "unconstitutionally restricts free speech." The only truly impartial and independent authority to enforce regulations is the U.S. Attorney's Office. Pending before those federal prosecutors is a complaint, asking that the Department of Justice determine whether Super PAC's and their lobbyists broke federal laws pertaining to bribery and the illegal coordinating of Super PAC activities with official campaign activities.

2014-03-12 New York Progress and Protection PAC - Declaration of Clyde Wilcox (57)

2014-03-17 New York Progress and Protection PAC - Defs Memo of Law Opposing MSJ (53)

John Liu sues New York City for blocking public matching campaign funds

"John Liu's campaign did nothing wrong," says lawyer Richard Emery.

John Liu, the former Comptroller for New York City, filed a federal lawsuit today against the City of New York, alleging that he was "denied the opportunity to compete on an even playing field with the other mayoral candidates, and his reputation was irreparably damaged," The New York Post is reporting, adding, that the Campaign Finance Board's decision to deny Mr. Liu $3.8 million in matching public dollars amounted to a “death sentence” to his mayoral campaign.

• RELATED : John Liu sues city for blocking $3.8M in public funds during mayoral bid (The New York Post)
• RELATED : Scott Levenson, NY-CLASS, Citizens United Super PAC Investigation (Updated) (NYC : News & Analysis)
• RELATED : Proposed NYS public matching dollars at risk of being gamed, just like with "model" NYC campaign finance system (NYC : News & Analysis)

Mr. Liu's complaint alleges that the Campaign Finance Board unlawfully “crippled” his bid to become the city’s first Asian-American mayor by citing the court convictions of others, even though Mr. Liu himself was never charged with any wrong-doing.

The investigation into Mr. Liu's campaign finances originated in a report published in 2011 by The New York Times at a time when Mr. Liu was attracting serious attention and support for his expected mayoral campaign in 2013. Many activists have alleged that the editors of The New York Times preferred the mayoral candidacy of former City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. After the Campaign Finance Board denied Mr. Liu's public matching funding dollars, former Speaker Quinn received the glowing endorsement of The New York Times' editorial board.

In a further example of the politicization of the Campaign Finance Board, city campaign finance regulators appeared to obsess over Mr. Liu's troubled donations, identified as only 35 out of over 6,300 donations, but city campaign finance regulators did nothing to scrutinize the corruptive influence of super PAC's in the 2013 municipal election.

In a video made last year by The Queens Courier, Mr. Liu described how investigators deceived his campaign workers into accepting tainted donations. Essentially, he was the victim of entrapment.

2014-03-12 John Liu v NYC Campaign Finance Board - USDC-SDNY COMPLAINT (Stamped Copy) by Connaissable

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QUESTIONING THE NEW YORK CITY CAMPAIGN FINANCE BOARD With John Liu's lawsuit against New York City over conflicted city campaign finance regulators, this makes three federal referrals of elections violations, forcing Mayor de Blasio to lawyer-up, recruit special inside election counsel. After a wave of federal complaints that have been lodged over electioneering violations in last year's municipal elections, Mayor Bill de Blasio has hired a special legal advisor specializing in election law. RELATED : Henry Berger, a longtime election lawyer, previously served as election counsel to Bill de Blasio during his 2009 public advocate campaign, has been appointed to be "special counsel" to the mayor. (Election Lawyer Hired As Special Council To Mayor Bill de Blasio * City & State) Since Mayor de Blasio and City Council Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, and/or their political operatives, are entangled in some of these federal complaints, it should come as no surprise that Mayor de Blasio is now maneuvering to use his public office to defend himself against allegations of wrong-doing that took place during the electioneering of last year's municipal elections.

The three federal complaints lodged following last year's municipal elections : GOP consultant E. O'Brien Murray argued to the State Department that Patrick Gaspard, a former top White House aide with a deep history in Gotham politics, violated the federal Hatch Act by getting involved in Mayor de Blasio's campaign -- and City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito's subsequent election as speaker -- while representing the U.S. in South Africa. (GOP Operative Files Hatch Act Complaint Against U.S. Ambassador Patrick Gaspard * The New York Daily News) Louis Flores, a local political gadfly who ran a blog and wrote a book criticizing Christine Quinn, has filed a complaint with U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara’s criminal division against Scott Levenson and The Advance Group consulting firm, which came under deep scrutiny during the mayoral campaign. (Federal Complaint Filed Against The Advance Group for Election Work * Politicker) Former New York City Comptroller and failed mayoral candidate John Liu has filed a federal lawsuit against the city and its Campaign Finance Board. He says the board unfairly crippled his campaign by denying him matching funds in last year's race for mayor. (Ex-NYC mayor hopeful sues Campaign Finance Board * AP/The San Francisco Chronicle)

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Who is Dick Dadey ? How has he improved voter participation ?

When Dick Dadey was the executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, he was visible in the effort to redraw the boundaries of the Third City Council District in Manhattan that made it possible to elect an LGBT candidate for the first time from that district. In 1991, Tom Duane was elected to the New York City Council. At the time, Mr. Duane’s campaign manager was Christine Quinn. In the time since, up to and including Mr. Dadey’s term as the executive director of Citizens Union, Mr. Dadey has had a close association with Ms. Quinn, the present City Council Speaker and mayoral candidate.

Earlier this year, information about the role that each of Mr. Dadey and the Pride Agenda had in the 1991 campaign to bring Mr. Duane and Ms. Quinn to power used to be found on the Pride Agenda’s Web site. But now that information has been deleted.

Why was the Pride Agenda’s redistricting activities removed from its Web site ?

Because of the close association that still exists between Mr. Dadey and Speaker Quinn, Mr. Flores questions the independence of Citizens Union, especially since each time that Speaker Quinn’s slush fund continues to lead to more public corruption cases, Mr. Dadey is always ready to provide political cover for Speaker Quinn. After The New York Post published a critical editorial of Speaker Quinn’s slush fund, hours later Mr. Dadey was quoted as defending Speaker Quinn in The New York Times. Another example follows where Speaker Quinn’s spokesperson used Mr. Dadey’s own remarks to deflect responsibility away from Speaker Quinn for the on-going corruption tied to Speaker Quinn’s slush fund.

This week, WNYC published an interactive online map documenting the extremely low voter turnout during the 2009 mayoral election. One of the reasons few citizens vote is because good-government groups like Citizens Union make a promise to be a “watchdog” over our government. Yet, under Mr. Dadey’s leadership, Citizens Union was informed last week by the New York State Board of Elections that Citizens Union must register as a political action committee as a consequence of all of its electioneering activities. Among its questionable recent activities is the contemplation of endorsing one of its previous benefactors.

If Citizens Union is going to engage in political favoritism and make campaign endorsements, then how independent can Citizens Union remain under immense political pressures, including those of the Speaker Quinn’s political machine ? During the 10 years that Mr. Dadey has been at Citizens Union and the 15 years that Speaker Quinn has been a councilmember, have any meaningful, transformational reforms been brought about to increase voter participation in the matters of our own governance ?

2013-08-08 Roots of Betrayal - Who is Dick Dadey Press Release by Connaissable