Following The Money Again
The Putnam Valley Republican Committee must really, really like Kevin Byrne. That's because on August 28th the committee contributed $30,000 to his campaign, making it the largest single infusion his campaign received all year. Reflecting deep divisions within the county's Republican Party, the only other Republican committee in the county that contributed to Byrne's campaign was Carmel's, but for the much smaller sum of $1,500. "Since the Putnam Valley GOP is supporting Kevin we made a donation to his campaign," Jacqueline Annabi, the committee's treasurer, explained in a text.
How did Putnam Valley's GOP come up with such a large sum, especially since on July 15th, the date of their previous filing, they had just $16,332 in their account? Annabi attributed it to a joint golfing fundraiser held on September 15th. Of the 28 donors to the PV GOP during this period, which raised $25,050, only two actually came from Putnam Valley. (Former town board member Stacey Tompkins and the county's District Attorney Robert Tendy each contributed $60.) More than half of the other donors were not even from Putnam County but from faraway places like Saratoga Springs and Gansevoort. "When it comes to golf, people travel, just like bingo, lol," Annabi wrote.
The link to the event online indicated that donations should be made to the PV GOP. Promotion of the event also stated:
But that didn't happen, at least not really. The donations may not even have provided much direct support to Byrne's campaign. Several weeks after receiving Putnam Valley's $30,000 check, Byrne's campaign transferred $25,000 to the coffers of the county GOP, which in mid-June had only $10,091 in its account. Two days later, the county transferred $25,000 to the state GOP's campaign fund.
In addition to bolstering Byrne's image as a rainmaker, it may also have been helpful to have Putnam Valley's GOP take the lead on the golfing event because his fundraising operation at that time was under a cloud. On July 28th, Byrne's opponent, Brett Yarris, began publicly accusing Byrne of violating campaign finance law by accepting nearly $20,000 in contributions over the legal limit. On August 6th, Yarris filed a formal complaint with the NYS Board of Elections. At the time, Byrne dismissed the allegations: "Brett Yarris' accusations are baseless and demonstrate a fundamental misunderstanding of New York campaign finance law," he said in a statement. "Perhaps he should spend less time writing press releases and more time learning about the law before making reckless allegations." Without the $30,000 from Putnam Valley's GOP, Byrne's campaign would only have received $11,201 in contributions during that period, a steep drop from July's cycle, when he received $84,305 in contributions
Last week NY Supreme Court Justice Victor Grossman ruled that Byrne's campaign had indeed violated the law and required that $21,526 be returned to donors. In an affidavit, Byrne's campaign treasurer acknowledged the errors. Byrne's latest filing indicates the campaign began issuing refunds towards the end of September, before the judge's ruling. His campaign remains under state Board of Elections investigation.
The willingness of Putnam Valley's GOP to show so much support for Byrne may also have been aided by Annabi's role as Byrne's chief of staff. There was no indication that Putnam Valley's Republican candidates needed more money for their campaigns. They were all inactive fundraisers during this period. That said, Assemblyman Matt Slater is hosting a "cigar and bourbon" event later this month for Christian Russo, who is running for the county legislature. Russo still had a healthy balance on October 2nd of $21,151. After deducting the $30,000 transfer to Byrne's campaign and other expenses, the Putnam Valley GOP now has about $8,000 left in its coffers.
Meanwhile, Democratic candidates in Putnam Valley continued to generate limited financial support. During this latest disclosure period, the Putnam Valley Democratic Committee received $7,210 in contributions. It transferred $3,000 to Alison Jolicoeur, who is running for re-election as Town Supervisor; $2,500 to Maia Gilleo, who is running against Russo for county legislature; $1,500 to Yarris' campaign; and, $1,500 to Michael Strauss, who is running for county coroner. Its balance at the end of this disclosure period was $7,201.
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