Democrats Have an Edge In Money Race
Lisa R. Rana stands out as top fund-raiser
By Carissa Katz
(10/18/2007) Campaign season is in full swing and the political committees and candidates in East Hampton Town are dipping into their war chests to get their messages out to voters
As of the beginning of this month, Democrats had earned more, spent more, and had more left to spend than the Republicans, according to financial disclosure reports filed on Oct. 5 with the New York State Board of Elections.
As the candidates prepared to ramp up their campaigning in late summer and early fall, they and the committees supporting them had put more money toward advertising, fund-raisers, campaign literature, and polling, according to the reports, which cover the period from July 12 through Oct. 1.
Campaign 2007 and the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee, both of which support all the Democratic candidates, raised over five times more than the East Hampton Town Republican Committee in that period. While the two Democratic committees took in $76,368, the Republican Committee got just $14,605 in contributions.
Adding in the committees supporting individual Democratic candidates, Democrats had received $101,443 in contributions between July 12 and Oct. 1. The Republican Committee and five committees for individual Republican candidates combined raised $61,227. Democrats also got a boost from the East Hampton Conservators, a political action committee supporting pro-environment candidates. The Conservators raised $27,242 in that period and gave $5,000 to Campaign 2007.
In addition to Campaign 2007 and the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee, People for McGintee, the campaign fund for Town Supervisor Bill McGintee, together spent $6,816 on polling between July and the end of October. None of the financial disclosure reports filed with the State Board of Elections for the various Republican campaign committees, including the East Hampton Town Republican Committee, its standard bearer Bill Wilkinson’s committee, Wilkinson for Supervisor, and the fund for Bill Gardiner, a candidate for the town board, list spending for polling between July 12 and Oct 1.
However, an amended disclosure report for the previous period shows that the Republican Committee paid $8,130 to Lona Rubenstein’s L.B.L. Services for polling in early June. The committee also paid L.B.L. Services $1,860 in May for campaign mailuings. Ms. Rubenstein is the Republicans’ paid political consultant.
There is also no record of payments to the Republican’s political consultant Lona Rubenstein’s company L.B.L. services for the July to October period or the January through July period. She said on Tuesday that she was paid in the winter. L.B.L. Services is shown as contributing $500 to the East Hampton Town Republican Committee on Sept. 23.
“I do know that there have been payments,” Jim Moeller, the treasurer for the Republican Committee, said Tuesday. As of press time, he was unable to specify when or where they appeared in the disclosure reports. Records on the State Board of Elections Web site do not include those for Mr. Gardiner’s now defunct committee, Friends of Bill Gardiner.
Mr. Gardiner, who is also the Republican Committee chairman, was not available for comment due to family illness.
Republicans have not been represented on the town board since 2005, when Pat Mansir switched parties and ran as a Democrat. Although they are clearly the underdogs in fund-raising, incumbent Town Justice Lisa R. Rana is the exception to the rule.
She is a fund-raising standout, not only among Republicans but among all the candidates. Running for her third term, Ms. Rana raised $25,683 between July 12 and Oct. 1. Her $1,000 backers were Andrew Sabin, Steve Gordon of Amagansett, Bistrian Materials and Patrick Bistrian Jr. Inc. of East Hampton, Michael Guthrie of Southampton, Andrew Maffei of Bridgehampton, and O’Donahue Associates of Sag Harbor.
Ms. Rana also spent the most of the individual candidates, $16,017. Just over half of that went to a fund-raiser and another $6,193 went to advertising.
Her Democratic challenger, Steven Tekulsky, raised $10,975, but had only one $1,000 supporter, Thomas A. Moore of New York. Mr. Tekulsky paid out $5,768, almost all of it for print and radio ads.
Between July 12 and Oct. 1, campaign spending for the major parties totaled $116,919. Republicans paid out $43,724 and Democrats spent $71,790. Print and radio advertising accounted for $36,543 of the money spent. On Oct. 1, with just over a month remaining until Election Day, the various Democratic campaign committees had $47,071 in their accounts and the various Republican committees had $39,711 left to work with.
The East Hampton Town Democratic Committee and Campaign 2007 went through $56,235 in the late summer and early fall. They paid Strategic Planning Systems of Bohemia $2,816 to conduct polls, and spent $15,650 on print and radio advertisements, $17,203 on campaign literature, $3,000 on bumper stickers, $6,472 on a fund-raiser, and $3,682 on postage.
The East Hampton Town Republican Committee reported $12,993 in spending between July 12 and Oct. 1. The committee spent $5,513 on campaign literature, including the Republican newsletter, $2,163 on fund-raisers, and $1,542 on print and radio ads.
Mr. Wilkinson spent $11,595 on his campaign during that period, with $4,791 going to print and radio ads and $6,702 to campaign mailings. Almost all of the $1,190 Mr. Gardiner spent went to radio ads.
In the race for town supervisor, the Democratic incumbent, Bill McGintee, had outraised and outspent his Republican challenger. People for McGintee got $19,350 in contributions and spent $15,037. Wilkinson for Supervisor raised $12,354 and spent $11,595.
After the July 15 periodic statement, People for McGintee had refunded $13,000 to campaign contributors who, in the first half of the year, had given over the legal limit of $1,000 per individual or $2,500 per partnership. (The limit is much higher for party committees.)
His campaign returned $3,000 each to Ben Krupinski and Michael Recanati of East Hampton. He also gave back $1,000 to seven others who had contributed more than election law allows — Paul Scheerer Jr. of East Hampton, and Stephen Schwartzman, Michael Schulof, Amy Perella, Joseph Perella, Thomas Lee, and B.S. Friedbert, all of whom list New York addresses.
That brought People for McGintee’s total take for Jan. 15 through July from $30,525 down to $17,525. During that period Mr. Wilkinson’s campaign raised $27,957.
Between July 12 and Oct. 1, Mr. McGintee recouped some of what he had refunded from the family members of those who gave more than the limit in the previous period. Eighteen contributors gave him $1,000 contributions. They were Barbara Scheerer of East Hampton, and Paula Schulhof, Christine Schwartzman, C.A. Moss, Maris Aviation Services L.L.C., Maris Management L.L.C., and Alex Weil, all of New York, Annette Sabin, Andrew Sabin, Patrick Bistrian Jr., Bistrian Materials, Hampton Oaks, Island Group Administration, Staff House, and Village Main Street Corporation of East Hampton, the Montauk Shores Condiminiums, and Jeffrey P. Shapiro and Wendy B. Shapiro of Kings Point.
The vast majority of Mr. Wilkinson’s contributors were from Montauk. His $1,000 donations in this period came from E. Virgil and Elaine Conway of Montauk, Stanley Arkin of Amagansett, Paul Scheerer Jr., and William Cella and Robert Jarmain of New York.
People for McGintee spent an additional $15,037, with $4,000 going to Strategic Planning Systems polling, $2,000 for campaign mailings, $1,509 on campaign literature, and $2,144 on radio ads.
In addition to their contribution to Campaign 2007, the East Hampton Conservators put $5,053 toward fund-raising letters, and paid $3,554 for professional services.
Looking further at individual contributors, Cyril Fitzsimons of Amagansett, the owner of the Napeague bar Cyril’s, was the largest contributor to the East Hampton Town Republican Committee, with a hefty donation of $5,000. Otherwise, the committee got only two high-level donations — Nancy McCaffrey of Wainscott and Jay Moorehead of East Hampton each gave $1,000.
The biggest contributors during this period to the East Hampton Town Democratic Committee and Campaign 2007 were David Gruber of East Hampton, who gave $3,000, David Kelley of Sag Harbor, who gave $2,000, and Krupinski Builders and Associates of East Hampton, and the law firm Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin and Quartararo of Riverhead and East Hampton, each of which gave $1,500.
The Democrats also got 19 $1,000 contributions. The donors at this level were Arthur Beckenstein, Frank Newbold, the Bistrian Gravel Corporation, and Jos. A. Hren Nurseries of East Hampton; Fouad Chartouni, Adelaide de Menil, and Alex Weil of New York; Gene Kinsella and Steven Green of Sag Harbor, and Alan Klopman of Amagansett, Perry Haberman of Montauk, Harry Kamen of Wainscott, and Randy Cardo of Quogue. The Democrats also got $1,000 donations from Montauk Shores Condominiums, GFC Realty of Bohemia, Renco Construction Corporation of Ronkonkoma, and Thomas H. Gannon and Sons of Medford, and Rosemar Construction of East Moriches.
Robert E. McKeon of Darien, Conn., was the biggest supporter of the East Hampton Conservators in the period ending Oct. 1, giving $10,000. The political action committee also got $5,000 from Ruth A. Mueller of East Hampton and $2,500 each from Andrew Fredman of Amagansett and Donald Maharam of East Hampton. Yves-Andre Istel, Carol Liebenson, Stephen A. Kippur, Julie W. Sakellariadis, all of New York, Jack Lenor Larsen of East Hampton, Martha Stewart of East Hampton and Ann M. Mallouk of Garden City each gave the Conservators $1,000.
Lynch for Highway, the campaign committee for Stephen Lynch, the Republican candidate for town highway superintendent, took in $4,470, with only one $1,000 contributor — Bistrian Materials of East Hampton.
It should be noted that a number of individuals and corporations gave siz- able amounts to Republicans and Democrats. They include Mr. Scheerer, Patrick Bistrian Jr., Bistrian Materials, and Andrew Sabin.