Complaints filed against Amenia Strong candidates

Part II

AMENIA — Voters in Amenia are still sorting through some of the resentment that seems to remain from the 2021 town elections.

Three candidates ran on an independent party line Republicans created last fall called Amenia Strong (AS) against other GOP members, Democrats and one write-in candidate; there were nine candidates in total on Amenia’s 2021 ballot.

The AS slate of candidates included town supervisor candidate Julie Doran and Town Board candidates Brad Rebillard and Jamie Vitiello. Only Rebillard won; he’s now serving a four-year term as councilman.

Last week The Millerton News reported on a complaint filed with the New York State Board of Elections (NYSBOE) that none of the AS candidates filed their candidate disclosure forms on time with the BOE, and also that AS did not properly register as a political committee.

Rebillard and Vitiello told this newspaper they were contacted by the BOE and would or had filed their forms in time for the Feb. 4 deadline; Doran did not return calls or emails requesting an interview.

AS candidates not alone

Yet it seems like the AS candidates were not alone in skipping the rule book. None of the other candidates managed to complete their filings on time either— except one.

It appears only Democrat Leo Blackman, the run-away winner in Amenia’s Town Board race, filed his proper disclosure forms, according to the NYSBOE website, www.publicreporting.elections.ny.gov.

Some candidates reportedly began to register their committees, but never followed through or did so on time. Vitiello said it’s fairly common, as candidates had until the 4th to “clean up their act.”

Much ado…

“I think this is much ado about nothing,” he said in an interview before the Feb. 4 deadline. “It happens literally thousands of time across the state. I didn’t know and I didn’t file some relatively benign things, so I got something from the BOE… there’s no conspiracy here. I’m sure Julie and Brad will file the appropriate things for themselves, then it will be closed… All it is, the BOE sends a letter that says clean up your filing, then the three of us clean up our filings before the deadline, then it’s closed.”

Candidate filings are public on the NYSBOE website listed above, which has its own enforcement division to ensure the law is followed.

No filings found

On Thursday, Jan. 27, NYSBOE Spokesman John Conklin researched the site simultaneously with this reporter, and found no filings for Amenia Strong or its three candidates.

“That suggests they did not file a committee with us or at the very least you could not find one in the state listing or in the state search engine,” said Conklin of AS.

Searches for the other five Amenia candidates took place later and likewise found no filings (none of whom responded to email interview requests).

When called for an interview, Rebillard confirmed he was contacted by the NYSBOE, adding he filed his disclosure forms.

Rebillard says ‘I filed’

“I filed,” he said on Friday the 28th, though he couldn’t confirm when. “I don’t know [when]. I saw the email that came through [from the BOE]. Whoever is trying to stir the pot, all I know is that I filed and I acknowledged that I filed. Check with the [BOE] again, they’re not exactly on top of things.”

“They give you a little grace period, especially for new candidates,” confirmed Dutchess County Board of Elections Democratic Commissioner Hannah Black, noting the state is in charge of enforcement. “The state contacts people if there’s a complaint filed.”

Candidates obligated

Blackman’s Campaign Treasurer Ken Montiero said it’s up to the candidates — and the committees — to know the rules when mounting a campaign.

“If you’re going to run for office you have an obligation to find out what your duties are as a candidate,” he said. “Those are basic good government requirements for good government disclosures.”

AS has ‘special obligation’

In the case of Amenia Strong, which ran on a platform of transparency, he said its candidates had a special obligation to follow the rules as they campaigned on being open and honest. That should include letting voters know who funded their campaigns.

“I think people should know that these candidates, who talked on their campaign mailings about transparency, well, I don’t see any transparency,” he said. “I do think the BOE should force them to reconstruct their contributions and expenditures and do the filings they should have done. They should make them do the disclosures even if it’s too late for voters to make a decision, and it’s up to the board to decide if they should be fined or not. I’m mostly concerned about the information getting out.”

Hefty penalty after Feb. 4

While current election year information on violations and regulations was not available, according to www.elections.ny.gov, the New York State Election Law will change in November, following the General Election.   

Come Wednesday, Nov. 9, “Enforcement and penalties for violations… of any provisions regarding public campaign financing… shall be subject to a civil penalty in an amount not in excess of $15,000 and such other lesser fines as the Public Campaign Finance Board may promulgate in regulation.”

Other campaigns called out

Vitiello, meanwhile, said he could have criticized his opponents’ tactics but had hoped relations would be more civilized.

“There were mailings from the other side against Amenia Strong… it was against the three of us,” he said, “and it didn’t say who paid for it, if I recall. It simply said, ‘Not paid for by…’ which is patently illegal.”

‘100% illegal mailings’

“We didn’t file a compliant with the BOE,” he said, noting there was no political committee listed on the mailings as required by law. “During when it was happening, we said, ‘Should we call the BOE?’ But we decided it wasn’t worth it to create more acrimony. It was 100% illegal, but that’s small town politics.”

Committees are listed at the bottom of political ads and mailings to let would-be voters know who’s funding which candidates.

Follow the money

That’s important, because it discloses who is bankrolling whom. In the case of New York State elections, candidates must divulge any contribution or fundraising of $1,000 or more.

“There’s the laudatory goal of transparency, but it’s also required by law,” said Conklin. It’s been required in New York since the 1970s. “The people in the town want to see who is making contributions to people running for public office; if there are large developers, I suppose they should be aware of that; they want to see who is making contributions.”

While candidates who spend less than $1,000 don’t have to file disclosure reports, they must still file a CF-05 form with the BOE to qualify for an exemption.

Optimism abounds

Despite the difficulties of getting out the vote in 2021, the election of Blackman and Rebillard to the Amenia Town Board seems to be going well.

Looking forward to their Thursday, Feb. 17, meeting at 7 p.m., the councilmen said they feel the governing body has been able to put politics aside and get to work. Both said they look forward to accomplishing much during their terms.

“All of it is good — very good. Politics doesn’t really consider what it takes to do a job like this,” said Rebillard, who has been busy training with the Association of Towns to learn the ins-and-outs of being a councilman. “Politics is one thing and doing a job like this is another thing. Everything I am seeing and hearing people say is very positive on the board; I think it’s going well.”

Blackman also said he’s pleased with their progress thus far, even though it’s only the start of the new year.

“There’s a huge amount to learn, but the long-term members have been patient in explaining. We seem to work well together,” he said. “There is much I want to accomplish, so I need to figure out how I start to actually make those changes. I’ve already gotten a bunch of calls from residents with specific problems. I’ve been kept busy trying to find solutions.”