Monday, December 11, 2017

$3/4M taxpayer money blown on worthless race

From the Daily News:

City Public Advocate Letitia James burned through nearly all of the more than $750,000 in taxpayer matching funds in a lopsided race against a poorly funded opponent — spending $500,000 on a single Election Day expenditure, public records show.

James, a Democrat who cruised to reelection over Republican political consultant J.C. Polanco, spent about $1.7 million in total on the race, according to filings with the Campaign Finance Board. She crushed Polanco, her nearest competitor — earning 812,234 votes to his 172,601.

James was widely expected to win her reelection bid — but still filed a statement of need requesting the entire amount of matching funds, citing Polanco as a strong opponent. In doing so, she noted media coverage about the would-be pol — including stories about how little money he had raised.

Candidates are required to return matching funds they do not spend on their race — but James has just $39,018 left in her coffers, meaning the taxpayers will get back little, if anything.

James spent a whopping half-million in one day — Nov. 7, the date of the general election, when she reported the $500,000 payment to Global Strategies Group. Her campaign said the payment was for digital ads that appeared on social media sites, community and ethnic newspaper sites and other news sites — including the Daily News website.

21 comments:

Joe Moretti said...

Like another reason is needed to terminate this do nothing but costly government welfare position. AND James is one of the worst.

Anonymous said...

Why do I feel like lots of that half a billion is going to find it’s way into her pocket.

JQ LLC said...

Ms. James has gained a lot of weight since being elected. Me thinks the majority of that donor cash went into fine dining.

Anonymous said...

J D Polanco has done a wonderful act pretending to be a Republican, while screwing every Republican candidate and official while on the board of elections, so he definitely needs to be rewarded.

Anonymous said...

I still didn't vote for her.

Anonymous said...

holy crap, can we please put a cap on how much people can post in the comment section. more than a dozen pointless quotes that range from a fable teller to a radical socialist and anarchist. really? when quotes take up more than the actual comment being made, it's time to stop copy and pasting things.

all that's missing are his "Alas" to start every line.

TommyR said...

Man I'm loving those quotes. Kakistocracy...is so very apt.

In any case, this isn't really news. What did the plebians expect? That she'd give back anything in excess of what was "needed"? Nah, that shit went into lining her lifestyle, and was "meant to be spent", from its very allotment.

It's one of the ways Government recycles money into the economy. Uh, supposedly, anyway.

Wouldn't be surprised if she was throwing this sum at this "Global Strategy Group" as form of future endearment for a potential plum position. Look at their smug fucking faces...ugh.

http://www.globalstrategygroup.com/team/

I have to say, this was much better quality of reporting than I'd come to expect from TDN.

" James spent a whopping half-million in one day — Nov. 7, the date of the general election, when she reported the $500,000 payment to Global Strategies Group. Her campaign said the payment was for digital ads that appeared on social media sites, community and ethnic newspaper sites and other news sites — including the Daily News website.

Filing the expense on Election Day meant that it did not have to be reported within 24 hours, as all expenses in the 14 days leading up to the election must. Instead, it became public last week, after a postelection filing deadline. The campaign said it paid the bill as soon as it received it, and didn’t control when the bill came.

If James had not spent down her cash by Election Day, it would have been more difficult to spend — while candidates can pay election-related expenses after the race, those payments are subject to more scrutiny from the Campaign Finance Board.

“Public Advocate James has long championed public campaign financing, so that holding public office is accessible regardless of wealth,” a campaign spokesman said. “She proudly ran a campaign fueled by thousands of small dollar donors from across New York City, and is honored she was reelected for a second term.”"

Ah, always nice to see where my property taxes are going!

Anonymous said...

Did de Blasio and Stringer spend all their matching fund money this year? If they did, why pick on her? I guess it's ok for guys like Giuliani and Springer to spend their matching funds but not Ms. James. Why did the Daily News go after her? Is it because she's a woman or is there another reason?

Anonymous said...

It's a form of mass demoralization and dehumanization in THIS, the digital age that has cemented the end of humanism, and the human misery has devolved into mass apathy and societal decay, which produces, rewards and exalts a kakistocracy like Letititia James, Scott Stringer, and her BFF, Bill de BLASS-hole!

Alas, mental slavery is the worst form of slavery. It gives one the illusion of freedom, makes one trust, love and defend one's oppressor, while making an enemy of those whom are trying to free you, and to open your eyes!

WHAT? THIS IS NEW? SAME CIRCUS—DIFFERENT UNFUNNY CLOWNS!

Ignoring the party-machine-failed duopoly is to condone it.

If you are unmoved by a rigged elections, then you will be unmoved by a fascist president!

Slavery didn't end in 1865—IT EVOLVED!

❝I freed a thousand slaves. I could have freed a thousand more if only they knew they were slaves.❞ —Harriet Tubman

❝It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends on his not understanding it.❞ ―Upton Sinclair

❝If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing.❞ ―Malcolm X

❝The most effective way to destroy people is to deny and obliterate their own understanding of their history.❞ ―George Orwell

❝Man is the most insane species.
He worships an invisible God
and slaughters an invisible Nature...
without realizing that this Nature
he slaughters is this invisible God
he worships.❞ ―Hubert Reeves

❝We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.❞ —Ayn Rand

❝Men and women ... do you not realize that the State is the worst enemy you have? It is a machine that crushes you in order to sustain the ruling class, your masters. Like naïve children, you blindly invest your trust in your politically failed leaders. You make it possible for them to creep into your confidence, only to have them betray you to the first bidder. But even where there is no direct betrayal, the labor politicians make common cause with your enemies to keep you in leash, to prevent your direct action. The State is the pillar of capitalism, and it is ridiculous to expect any redress from it.❞ —Emma Goldman

❝I cannot help fearing that men may reach a point where they look on every new theory as a danger, every innovation as a toilsome trouble, every social advance as a first step toward revolution, and that they may absolutely refuse to move at all.❞ —Alexis de Tocqueville

❝Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think that we are being run by maniacs for maniacal ends, and I think that I am liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That's what's insane about it.❞ —John Lennon

❝We hang the petty thieves and elect the great ones to public office.❞ —Aesop

❝Never be deceived into believing that the rich will permit anyone to vote away their wealth.❞ —Lucy Parsons

Alas, the the left wing and the right wing of the two-party-machine-failed duopoly belong to the same diseased bird.

❝The nihilism and rage sweeping across the globe are not generated by warped ideologies or medieval religious beliefs. These destructive forces have their roots in the obliterating of social, cultural and religious traditions by modernization and the consumer society, the disastrous attempts by the United States to carry out regime change, often through coups and wars, and the utopian neoliberal ideology that has concentrated wealth in the hands of a tiny cabal of corrupt global oligarchs.❞ —Chris Hedges, The Age of Anger

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuMntvVwwWM

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/the-age-of-anger/

http://www.tcm.com/.../Demon-Seed-Movie-Clip-Try-To...

Anonymous said...

Apparently Scott Stringer did not accept matching funds, so it says something good about him. Something to remember.

Anonymous said...

Add borough presidents to list useless tax sucking entities.

Joe Moretti said...

Anonymous said...

holy crap, can we please put a cap on how much people can post in the comment section. more than a dozen pointless quotes that range from a fable teller to a radical socialist and anarchist. really? when quotes take up more than the actual comment being made, it's time to stop copy and pasting things.

---------------------------

DEAL WITH it, attention span of a fruit fly. This is a comment section on a blog, not dumb dumb Twitter where you use a small amount of characters, you know for people with the attention span of fruit fly, like TRUMP. I know READING is so old fashion, along with common sense, telling the truth and being informed.

TommyR said...

Well said, Moretti. The point of the quotes is to make people THINK. If they find that too hard, they can always follow our Glorious Leader haha ;) I find them a little onerous to scroll through myself, but honestly - just scroll on and quite griping you whiners.

BTW Joe wherever you ended up I hope your life has improved and you're happier!

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Joe Moretti, for being the voice of reason, and laying into the 'Anonymous' who criticized my comments by starting out with a 'holy crap.'

So, I profoundly suggest that intelligent, critical thinking communicators like you, JQ, georgetheatheist (and a few others, many of whom have thankfully strayed from the flock of deaf, dumb and blind 'SHEEPLE'), impose a cap instead on HIS/HER vapid comments of wasted space that attack free speech, not to mention that what I have publicly stated reinforces how: The public good must ALWAYS outweigh the crushing weight of all private (and, now public and political) gain. Which only (and tragically) proves my point: If sheep could vote, they would pick the guy who feeds them——even if it's the SAME person who will slaughter them later on!

But, if Anonymous likes caps on free speech and inclusionary dialog so much, then he/she can relocate to China, Cuba or any and all of the 'OTHER' failed countries of communistic/dictatorship rule, beggary, obscurity, quiet desperation——and, public squalor.

Hell——Joe Moretti, JQ and I will even come over to help this misfit with packing, for faster exit! No good deed goes unpunished, I tell ya!

Anonymous said...

>holy crap, can we please put a cap on how much people can post in the comment section.

There's a button on your keyboard labeled PgDn that you should familiarize yourself with.

>Ms. James has gained a lot of weight since being elected. Me thinks the majority of that donor cash went into fine dining.

Elected officials get invited to multiple events with food every night. It's hard not to gain weight in that position.

TommyR said...

^Given that I'd immediately profess a slight bias for an EO who maintains a trimmer figure vis-à-vis his corpulent counterparts. Greedy for grub, greedy for greenbacks.

ron s said...

A. Get rid of James
B. Get rid of the position
C. Get rid of useless patronage BP positions.
D. Send 10% of money saved to me as a commission.
E. Send another 10% to the dancing monkey.

(sarc) said...

Joe Moretti

For your information this blog is limited to four thousand and ninety six characters.

With the common English language, that equates to some five hundred and sixty words.

The average interested party would muddle through such drivel in three minutes or so.

On an occasion we all need a good rant...

Anonymous said...

It's amazing that she can be so blind, as she seems to have 360 degree vision.

faster340 said...

"meaning the taxpayers will get back little, if anything."

What else is new...

Anonymous said...

Alas, the lethally dangerous scourge of all hyper-corrupt, dishonest, dishonorable, disloyal, derelict and totally disgraced politicians (not public servants), is a testament to how there is a complete crisis in honest, ethical, inclusionary, NOT FOR SALE, leadership that leads by example. And, every passing day that these voracious, predatory, rapacious, un-American, anti-American thieves are allowed to destroy public trust, ethics, integrity, accountability and transparency is another day of lawlessness, violence, vigilantism and outright government tyranny/anarchy that the shabby remnants of an already ravaged-and-tonsured American society, will pay the ultimate, soul-crushing prices of lost and destroyed American jobs, crushed lives, livelihoods and robbed youth that is irreversible and forever lost to squandered time.

I am sick to death over this kleptocratic 'KAKISTOCRACY of MONETARY LOCUSTS', all of whom continue to feed off of the very taxpayer-funded coffers, as they create even deeper levels of hyper-corruption, and entrenched, establishment-rigged human misery, whilst simultaneously delaying and denying benefits and services that have ALWAYS been designated for their ever languishing constituents (i.e., a defined pension system, abundant annual leave, premium healthcare).

What apathetic society of nearly 350 million people would not REVOLT EN MASS over their FOISTED SAVAGERY, BARBARISM and OPENLY PRACTICED GOVERNMENT TYRANNY, ANARCHY and WILLFUL DESTRUCTION OF AN ENTIRE FORCE OF HUMANKIND, I ASK INCREDULOUSLY?

THIS IS CLASS WARFARE and CLASSISM! In the end, life is a bloody battle, 'SHEEPLE!' If you do not enter it armed―then, surrender IMMEDIATELY! REVOLUTION is the ONLY SOLUTION!

❝No matter how paranoid or conspiracy-minded you are, what the government is actually doing is worse than you imagine.❞ ―William Blum, Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower

❝We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office.❞ —Aesop

❝The Earth isn't dying. It's being killed. And, the people who are killing it have names and addresses.❞ —Utah Bo Phillips Band

❝Merciless criticism and independent thinking are the two necessary traits of revolutionary thinking.❞ —Bhagat Singh

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acLW1vFO-2Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4Tq9zdp9ZE...