Common Cause, a government reform group, has asked the Campaign Finance Board to investigate Andrew Cuomo’s campaign for what it says are potential violations of campaign finance laws.
In a formal complaint on Tuesday, Susan Lerner, the executive director of the group, wrote that consulting and polling services provided by Tusk Strategies, a lobbying firm, are in-kind contributions, and that they go against strict spending limits imposed on candidates.
This comes after the Cuomo campaign was last week docked a total of $1.3 million in money from the city’s 8-to-1 public matching funds program for suspected improper coordination between the campaign and a super PAC.
“We believe that such an investigation will lead the Board to the same conclusion that we have arrived at: the seriousness and the persistence of the violations by the Cuomo campaign demand that the campaign be required to refund all matching funds and be disqualified from receiving any further public funds,” Lerner said.
The complaint comes after Politico reported that Tusk’s CEO Chris Coffey was not being paid despite doing extensive work on the campaign.
Shontell Smith, Cuomo’s political director campaign, is being paid both by the campaign by Tusk, raising concerns about potentially undermining “the intent of the CFB’s strict spending limits,” Lerner wrote.
Tusk bankrolled two polls, one just before Cuomo entered the race and a second shortly after. Common Cause argued that those polls, which were not reported to the CFB, may violate campaign finance rules.
“There is no indication that the spending for these polls, which appear to have been conducted in direct coordination with Cuomo’s campaign, have been adequately reported to the Campaign Finance Board or counted against Cuomo’s primary spending cap,” Common Cause’s complaint reads.
Rich Azzopardi, Cuomo’s spokesperson, said Lerner was attempting “election interference.”
“Unfortunately for them New Yorkers are too smart to fall for these sleazy tactics wrapped in the guise of good government,” he said, adding that other candidates use consultants who juggle other clients.
The spokesman added that people are allowed to volunteer on campaigns without it being considered a contribution.
