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Assembly District 115: State parties fuel big spending by candidates

State Republican and Democratic party leaders are pumping tens of thousands of dollars into the race for the 115th Assembly District seat held now by Janet Duprey.

As of this morning, Democrat Billy Jones and Republican Kevin Mulverhill have received a combined $491,663 in contributions, most of it coming from their state party campaign committees for use in television advertisements that have flooded the airwaves in the last few weeks.

Friends of Billy Jones has received $255,333 in contributions, according to his latest filings with the state Board of Elections. Roughly 70 percent of that, or $175,000, has come from the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee in four payments made between Sept. 29 and Oct. 24.

Contributions to the Friends of Kevin Mulverhill campaign total $236,330 so far, which includes $100,330 reported from his 11-day pre-election report and another $136,000 reported since last week. Almost 90 percent of Mulverhill’s money, $211,000, was supplied by the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee in seven payments between Oct. 11 and Thursday of last week.

Historic

Duprey, a Republican from Peru, is retiring from the seat she’s held since 2006. It’s not necessarily a surprise that state party leaders are pouring money into a close race for the open seat, but it’s still a lot of money.

In fact, the $351,603 both candidates’ campaigns have spent so far, which doesn’t include recent spending by the Mulverhill campaign, is more than the combined $338,770 spent by Duprey and all of the opponents she’s faced in her last three elections: Rudy Johnson and David Kimmel in 2010, Tim Carpenter and Karen Bisso in 2012, and Bisso in 2014.

Donors

Friends of Billy Jones has collected $207,109.93 from partnerships, committees, unions and other groups, $42,062.43 from individuals, $6,160.99 from corporations and $2,000 from political action committees.

After the state committee money, the Clinton and Franklin County Democratic committees are the Jones campaign’s next biggest contributors, at $7,000 and $5,000, respectively.

Several unions have also made sizable contributions to Friends of Billy Jones: New York State United Teachers ($4,400), New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association ($3,650), International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 910 ($2,000), Northeast Region Council of Carpenters and the Public Employees Federation ($1,000).

Other large contributions to the Jones campaign, of $1,000 or more, came from Adirondack Energy Products in Malone ($3,000), Stephen Podd of Rouses Point ($1,000), Victor Podd of Plattsburgh ($1,000), Manhattan Beer Distributors of the Bronx ($1,000) and the Committee to Re-Elect Assemblyman Joe Morelle of Rochester ($1,000). Garry Douglas of Plattsburgh, co-chairman of the North Country Regional Economic Development Council, also made a $1,000 donation to Jones campaign.

Mulverhill has received $218,190.68 from partnerships, committees, unions and other groups, $18,109.20 from individuals, $30.95 from corporations and nothing from political action committees.

Apart from the state committee funding, Friends of Kevin Mulverhill has only received five contributions of $1,000 or more: Mulverhill for Sheriff ($2,000), an unitemized $1,500 donation, the Franklin County Republican Committee ($1,000), James Prices of Bonita Springs, Florida ($1,000), and Patricia Mulverhill, the candidate’s wife ($1,000).

Spending

Friends of Billy Jones has spent $250,565 so far, according to his most recent filings. Its biggest payments, totaling $185,000, have gone to Mark Guma Communications of New York City for TV ads, according to the filings.

The next biggest expense listed for the Jones campaign is a $21,500 poll conducted in August by Kiley & Company of Boston. The poll became the subject of an investigation by the state Board of Elections.

On Aug. 30, the Plattsburgh Press-Republican reported a leaked portion of the poll that showed Jones with a 47-to-38 percent edge over Mulverhill. The Mulverhill campaign argued that it misled voters through slanted questioning and should be released in full. The Jones campaign maintains there was nothing misleading about the poll and that Mulverhill’s criticisms are a distraction from the race.

In October, the state Board of Elections commissioners ordered Friends of Billy Jones to publicly release 19 more questions from the poll, but only seven of these questions were among the 34 the board’s top enforcement lawyer recommended be made public.

Meanwhile, Friends of Kevin Mulverhill has spent $101,038, according to its most recent filings. That number, however, is likely much higher now given the amount of money his campaign has received in the last few weeks from the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee.

Of the $101,038 listed, Mulverhill’s biggest expense is $75,000 for TV advertising, paid to Growth Marketing of Rochester.

The rest of each candidate’s other expenditures include costs for lawn signs, print advertising, professional services, office expenses, campaign mailers and postage.

Statements

Jones, in a prepared statement, said he’s “thrilled with the contributions I have received from across the district.

“From teachers, to business owners, to organizations representing working families – the outpouring of financial support has been incredible,” he wrote. “And while my opponent has attempted to call me out for accepting money from my party, I have nothing to hide. That support allows me to better reach out to North Country folks so I can hear their concerns and fight for what matters to them.”

Mulverhill, who announced his candidacy in May, noted that his opponent started his campaign sooner than he did. Jones didn’t announce he was running until March but has been collecting contributions since November of last year.

“He’s also enjoyed a massive influx of cash funneled from New York City,” Mulverhill wrote in a prepared statement. “That’s because the New York City Democrats are working so hard to try and buy this Assembly seat so they’ll have another vote to help them raise our taxes more and block ethics reforms.

“My time has been spent protecting and serving the North Country and raising my family. My North Country campaign is being outspent by New York City money, but we’re working exceptionally hard on the ground and our message is resonating with voters.”

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