Campaign Funds For Lifestyle Padding
March 30th, 2006
Recent research from Common Cause/NY and a slew of news stories have made it clear that the problem of candidates for political office in New York state using their campaign funds to pad their lifestyles is pervasive.
From spa visits to vacations to expensive car leases, the stories of candidates using campaign funds for purposes that stretch the definition of “campaign expense” beyond any plausible limit have been unceasing. It’s time to make it clear to candidates that this practice has to end.
The problem of candidates using campaign funds for personal uses is not isolated to one candidate or one party. In fact, the single largest category of expenses for legislative candidates in the 2004 election cycle was not TV ads or fundraising but “other.” This, combined with the fact that winning candidates tend to spend a significant portion of their money outside of the height of the election season, highlights the pervasiveness of the practice of using campaign funds for purposes that stretch the definition of “campaign expense” to its breaking point.
To read specific examples of the practice, please check out the news stories from the Utica Observer Dispatch and the Journal News:
By Rachel Leon on March 30, 2006, 5:45 pm
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