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ELECTIONS · October 15, 2024

The chair of Assembly Democrats’ campaign committee said he wasn’t aware his organization had sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Bronx.

The Bronx Democratic Party, which helps elect Democratic candidates across the northernmost borough of New York City, has failed to disclose more than $400,000 in campaign contributions over the past four years — an apparent violation of campaign finance law.

 

A New York Focus review found that the State Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, chaired by Assemblymember Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), who broadly represents the Northwest Bronx, transferred the funds in over a dozen installments, yet those contributions never appeared on the Bronx Democratic Party’s paperwork.

 

It’s unclear what the Bronx Democrats used the money for. The heavily Democratic borough rarely sees competitive general elections [with the exception of the 2023 District 13 City Council race where Republican Kirsty Marmorato defeated incumbent Democrat Marjorie Velázquez in the East Bronx] and the County party has not reported large expenses in recent years.

 

Neither the Bronx party nor the Assembly campaign committee, nor Bronx party chair [State Sen.] Jamaal Bailey [S.D. 36), who broadly represents the Bronx districts of Wakefield, Olinville, Edenwald, Laconia, Baychester, The Valley, Eastchester, and Williamsbridge, Pelham Gardens, Woodlawn Heights, Co-op City, Parkside Housing Project, in addition to some southern Westchester areas like Mt. Vernon, Oakwood Heights and Fleetwood, responded to a request for comment.

 

New York State’s Board of Elections (BOE), which regulates campaign finance in the state, doesn’t appear to have taken any action in response to the omissions. The board did not respond to a request for comment.

 

The Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee transferred the funds in 23 installments, ranging in size from $15,000 to over $50,000, beginning in April 2020 and continuing through June 2024.

The committee’s choice to invest heavily in the Bronx is odd, given the lack of competitive elections in the borough: Every assemblymember currently representing the borough is a Democrat, and the Bronx is generally one of the most heavily Democratic counties in the country.

 

As money has flowed to the Bronx, Democratic assemblymembers have lost ground elsewhere in the State. In November 2022, the last statewide election cycle, Republicans unseated several longtime Democratic incumbents and gained five Assembly seats.

 

In the months leading up to that election, the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee sent nearly $200,000 to the Bronx Democrats while also spending several million dollars boosting Democratic assemblymembers in competitive elections. But some threatened Democrats received no support from the committee.

 

Former Assemblymember Steven Englebright (A.D. 5), a Democrat of Suffolk County, was defeated by Republican Edward Flood by less than 1,000 votes. Englebright told New York Focus that he requested support from the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee but didn’t get it.

 

“I remember putting a phone call in, and there were some conversations, but the conversations didn’t materialize” into action, he said. “I really don’t have any clear understanding of why the communication seemed to be so difficult.”

 

He doesn’t blame the committee for losing his seat, though, instead attributing his loss to a “perfect storm” — an anemic Long Island campaign from New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and a Republican gubernatorial candidate, Lee Zeldin, who hailed from Suffolk County.

Despite the hundreds of thousands of dollars it has apparently received, financial disclosures show the Bronx party has spent less than $75,000 since 2020, mostly on campaign consultants. It’s possible that their expense records are incomplete, too, noted Robert Galbraith, senior research analyst at the nonprofit Public Accountability Initiative, when asked to review the filings.

 

“The systems that we have in place in order to monitor money in politics and track campaign donations just seem to not be working …”

—Robert Galbraith, senior research analyst, Public Accountability Initiative

 

“The worst-case scenario you can imagine is that they took the money in and didn’t report bringing it in, and then spent it on something without reporting what that was,” he said.

 

It’s not surprising that regulators haven’t taken action, Galbraith said, since the Board of Elections does not have a strong record of proactively policing campaign finance violations. “The systems that we have in place in order to monitor money in politics and track campaign donations just seem to not be working in terms of being able to get an accurate accounting of where money is going and coming from,” Galbraith said.

 

One person who may have helped steer money towards the Bronx party, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (A.D. 83), is one of the most powerful figures in State politics and the honorary chair of the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee. Heastie broadly represents some or all of the Bronx neighborhoods of Wakefield, Olinville, Edenwald, Laconia, Baychester, The Valley, Eastchester, and Williamsbridge, and has chaired the committee since at least 2021.

Heastie’s office did not respond to a request for comment. Dinowitz said he wasn’t familiar with the contributions to the Bronx Party, but that there were “too many reports to go through” for him to determine why they were made. “I’m not the person who signs checks. I’m not the treasurer, or anything like that,” he said.

 

Dinowitz suggested that New York Focus contact the committee’s Albany office for clarification. The Albany office did not respond to New York Focus’s requests for comment.

 

Norwood News Editor’s Note: Bronx Democrats held a rally at their campaign headquarters on Williamsbridge Road in Morris Park on Sunday, Sept. 8, in support of the Harris Walz presidential campaign. At that event, Bronx Democratic Party Chairperson Jamaal Bailey spoke about record “investments” by New York State Demcrats in The Bronx in the context of election campaiging. Read the full story here.

 

When contacted, Norwood News received confirmation from New York Focus that the back-up documentation relating to the campaign finances for this story is based on public data available on the BOE website. We reached out independently to Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz, The Bronx Democratic Party, NYS Board of Elections Division of Election Law Enforcement, the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, Bronx Democratic Chair Jamaal Bailey and State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for comment on this story, and with some additional questions in some cases.

 

A representative for Dinowitz referrred us to the Bronx Democratic Party. A representative for the Party responded on Oct. 16, saying, “The Bronx Democratic Party is fully committed to transparency and accountability. The discrepancy identified in our recent financial disclosures was an administrative error, and we are actively working to correct it. All necessary amendments will be filed promptly. We take our reporting obligations seriously and remain dedicated to maintaining the trust of our community.”

 

When contacted, the NYS Board of Elections referred us to its Division of Election Law Enforcement. We received a statement on Oct. 23 from that division. Michael L. Johnson, chief enforcement counsel, said, “All work of the Division of Election Law Enforcement (DELE) is confidential. The disclosure of DELE materials not only has the potential to impede or obstruct investigations but potentially undermines principles of fundamental fairness in investigations and prosecutions. Therefore, the DELE does not comment on whether complaints have been received, investigations have been undertaken, or the status of complaints or investigations.”

 

Norwood News has not received any feedback to date from any of the other parties.