Our councilman Lew Fidler(up for reelection), has received an additional $63,091 in public funds to fend off republican challenger Gene Beredelli, based on coverage by Gerritsenbeach.net, Sheepsheadbites.com and other media.
In Councilman Fidlers letter to the NYC Campaign Finance Board, he requested via a “Statement of Need” matching funds from the city. This worked out to be $63,091
In the letter, Lew cited Gerritsenbeach.net and SheepsheadBites as additional coverage. So we here at GerritsenBeach.net wish to say you’re welcome!
So here’s how this whole thing played out:
IN order to qualify for (6-to-1) matching funds from the City, a Cit Council candidate must (1) collect $5000 in matchable funds and (2) collect donations from 75 people who reside in the district.
Only the first $175 donated by each person is matchable. And donations can only be accepted from individuals, not businesses or corporate entities.
There is also a spending limit if you receive matching funds. Something like $160,000, approximately.
In Lew Fidler’s case, additional rules apply because he is an incumbent. Since Beredelli hasn’t spent more than 25% of his spending limit, Lew was capped at 25% of the matching funds he would normally be eligible to receive. In his case, that amounted to a little over 20K
However, the rules say that Lew could submit a statement of need showing that he is in a competitive election and would then qualify for fulling matching funds. So Lew’s campaign submitted a 4-page letter making the case that the race is competitive, citing (1) that Beredelli has been receiving coverage in the local press and in blogs, attaching 40 some pages of evidence and (2) that Beredelli has been endorsed by the Kings County Republican Party, an organization with more than 250 members.
That letter is why Lew’s campaign received an additional 63K.
Dan, you left out a couple of other things. FIRST, as I told the Daily News and as was reported, if it turns out that if I do not need the money, I WILL RETURN IT.
Second, that 4 years ago, the Republican candidate for Mayor got 71% of the vote in my Council district. He is not exactly abiding by any spending limits this time and has opened a campaign hq in my district. And as you know, we are not close political buddies.
A Republican in our world is not exactly unheard of. Our State Sentor is a Republican.
My name is the very last name on the ballot btw, at the bottom of the machine.
At the time of the request, which I made on the last possible deadline date, Gene had not filed a financial disclosure report following his much bally hooed Curtis Sliwa fund raiser. I had no way of knowing what he had or hadn’t raised.
And, as everyone who follows the local papers or blogs knows, Gene is campaigning agreessively.
In awarding me the full amount that I was entitled to under the law, the Campaign Finance Board ruled that my race was “competitive.” At the time of the ruling, I had less than $20,000 on hand. A single mailing to the district costs almost that entire sum.
I applied for the money to be safe and prudent.
At this point, given Gene’s latest financial disclosure, I am sure that I will be returning a significant portion of this money on final election audit.
Lew from Brooklyn
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wtach how fast it goes Lew when its not coming out if your pocket
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I guess its coming out of OUR money.
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In a way, it’s a boost, but it’s also a knock.
Remember, there’s less than a month left to campaign (actually, less now, but when the Councilman submitted his letter, there was little more than a month left to campaign) – to demand an additional 63K – more money than the average working person in our district sees in a year! – when he was already receiving for 21K is not only gluttonous but wasteful in these economic times.
A little perspective: The extra money Lew received is enough for:
- 28,040 slices of pizza @ 2.25/slice
- 3 ½ years of rent or mortgage payments @ $1500.00 / mo
- 2 new rookie NYPD Officers
- 25,236 rides on buses & subways @ 2.50/ride
- 126 Vallone Scholarships @ CUNY, or pay for 3 students to attend for 4 years!
This is yet another example of how the Councilman “works†a flawed government system to his advantage.
Just like he did with term limits to get a chance at an extra term.
Just like what he does with discretionary “pork†, which is money given to groups based on neither merit nor need, but on the whim of a politician, and can be used to award conformity and punish dissent.
Other politicians, like Bill Di Blasio, recognized that and gave the money back to the taxpayers. But Lew has stayed true to his pattern.
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