NY lawmakers use campaign money as personal piggybanks

The Journal News reported on politicians often unrestricted use of their campaign money, including highlighting donations to nonprofits. As the article related:

What does spending $861 on hot sauce or $18,750 on a 2009 Cadillac sedan have to do with serving in the state Legislature?

For Assemblywoman Donna Lupardo, D-Binghamton, her office explained that she dipped into her campaign account to purchase personalized bottles of Hot Shots "Road Kill" sauce to give as party favors to supporters last month.

And Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, whose district covers a large part of Monroe County, said he does a lot of driving in the course of his work. Thus he chose to use campaign money to pay for some of the cost of his new Cadillac.

"I put about 40,000 miles a year on my car traveling around the district," Alesi explained.

Lupardo holds an annual "Blues and Barbecue" fundraiser that draws several hundred people, so "she had wanted to do something to just give back to the supporters," aide Michael Kennerknecht said of the sauce from Hot Shots of Charlotte, N.C.

From leasing cars and paying for airline flights to sponsoring Little League teams and contributing to charities for cancer victims, New York's election laws give lawmakers plenty of leeway on how they can spend their war chests.

Former Senate Republican Leader Joseph Bruno, who resigned last year and is battling federal corruption charges, used $441,373 from his campaign coffers to pay legal bills between January and the end of June. Bruno once bought a pool cover, saying it was related to his political duties because he regularly entertained.

Good-government groups have been pushing for stronger laws on the use of campaign contributions. New York law prohibits using the money for things that are not related to a political campaign or holding a public office.

But it is "too vague to provide any meaningful restraint," according to a report earlier this year by watchdog organizations.

The groups are proposing to restrict spending to uses that promote a candidate's election, and to ban expenditures like country club dues, legal fees, utility payments and rent. New York has among the weakest campaign finance laws in the country, advocates said. Read more here.