Where is the money? More than $400,000 is missing from the Bronx Democratic Party’s disclosures

By SAM MELLINS, New York Focus

CHOOSE · October 15, 2024

The chairman of the Assembly Democrats’ campaign committee said he was unaware that his organization had sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Bronx.

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

A review by New York Focus found that the State Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, chaired by Rep. Jeffrey Dinowitz (AD 81), who broadly represents the Northwest Bronx, transferred the funds in over a dozen installments, but these donations never appeared on the Bronx Democratic Party site paperwork.

It’s unclear what the Bronx Democrats used the money for. The heavily Democratic district rarely hosts competitive legislative 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 any major expenditures in recent years.

Not the Bronx Party, not the Assembly Campaign Committee, not the Bronx Party Chairman [State Sen.] Jamaal Bailey[SD36]who largely represents the Bronx districts of Wakefield, Olinville, Edenwald, Laconia, Baychester, The Valley, Eastchester and Williamsbridge, Pelham Gardens, Woodlawn Heights, Co-op City and Parkside Housing Project, and some areas in south Westchester such as MtVernon, Oakwood Heights and Fleetwood, responded to a request for comment[SD36)whobroadlyrepresentstheBronxdistrictsofWakefieldOlinvilleEdenwaldLaconiaBaychesterTheValleyEastchesterandWilliamsbridgePelhamGardensWoodlawnHeightsCo-opCityParksideHousingProjectinadditiontosomesouthernWestchesterareaslikeMtVernonOakwoodHeightsandFleetwoodrespondedtoarequestforcomment[SD36)derimGroßenundGanzendieBronx-BezirkeWakefieldOlinvilleEdenwaldLaconiaBaychesterTheValleyEastchesterundWilliamsbridgePelhamGardensWoodlawnHeightsCo-opCityundParksideHousingProjectvertrittEinigeGebieteimSüdenvonWestchesterwieMtVernonOakwoodHeightsundFleetwoodantwortetenaufeineBitteumeinenKommentar[SD36)whobroadlyrepresentstheBronxdistrictsofWakefieldOlinvilleEdenwaldLaconiaBaychesterTheValleyEastchesterandWilliamsbridgePelhamGardensWoodlawnHeightsCo-opCityParksideHousingProjectinadditiontosomesouthernWestchesterareaslikeMtVernonOakwoodHeightsandFleetwoodrespondedtoarequestforcomment

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

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

The committee’s decision to invest heavily in the Bronx is strange considering the district has no competitive elections: every assembly member currently representing the district is a Democrat, and the Bronx is generally one of the most Democratic districts in the country.

As money flows into the Bronx, Democratic lawmakers have lost ground in other parts of 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 Bronx Democrats while also spending millions of dollars to boost Democratic Assembly members in competitive elections. But some threatened Democrats received no support from the committee.

Former Rep. Steven Englebright (AD 5), a Democrat from Suffolk County, lost to Republican Edward Flood by fewer than 1,000 votes. Englebright told New York Focus that he asked the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee for support but did not receive it.

“I remember making a call and there were some conversations that didn’t materialize,” he said. “I really don’t have a clear understanding of why communication seemed to be so difficult.”

However, he doesn’t blame the committee for losing his seat, instead attributing his loss to a “perfect storm.” — an anemic Long Island campaign by 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 appears to have received, financial disclosures show the Bronx Party has spent less than $75,000 since 2020, mostly on campaign consultants. It’s possible her expense records were also incomplete, noted Robert Galbraith, senior research analyst at the nonprofit Public Accountability Initiative, when asked to review the records.

“The systems we have in place to monitor money in politics and track campaign donations just don’t seem to be working…”

–Robert Galbraith, senior research analyst, Public Accountability Initiative

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

It’s not surprising that regulators took no action, Galbraith said, since the election board doesn’t have a strong track record of proactively monitoring campaign finance violations. “The systems we have in place to monitor money in politics and track campaign donations just don’t seem to work to get an accurate accounting of where money is going and where it’s coming from,” Galbraith said.

One person who may have helped funnel money into the Bronx Party, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie (83 AD), is one of the most powerful figures in state politics and honorary chairman 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, as well as Dinowitz, and has been chairman of the committee since at least 2021.

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

Norwood News Editor’s Note: The Bronx Democrats held a rally at their campaign headquarters on Williamsbridge Road in Morris Park on Sunday, September 8, in support of Harris Walz’s presidential campaign. At that event, Bailey discussed record-breaking campaign “investments” in the Bronx by New York State Democrats. Read the full story here.

When contacted, Norwood News received confirmation from New York Focus that campaign finance backup documentation for this article is based on public data available on the BOE website. We have independently reached out to Rep. Jeffrey Dinowitz, the Bronx Democratic Party, the NYS Board of Elections, the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, Bronx Democratic Chairman Jamaal Bailey and State Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for comment this story and in some cases also ask some additional questions.

A representative for Dinowitz referred us to the Bronx Democratic Party. We have not yet received any feedback from the other parties. We will share any answers we receive.