Dark Money Shows Up in Constitutional Convention Debate

 

By Bill Mahoney 

ALBANY — Activists who believe the state should hold a constitutional convention are outspending those opposed to the idea, according to campaign filings submitted to the state Board of Elections in recent days.

State voters will decide in November whether or not such a convention will be held. Proponents of the vote have identified $768,260 worth of expenditures this year on their disclosure reports, slightly more than the $709,430 spent by the well-heeled coalition that has been formed to oppose the vote.

But the filings tell only a small portion of the story. There’s clear evidence that much more money has been spent than has been identified in campaign finance reports, and that most of this undisclosed spending has gone to benefit the convention’s opponents.

For example, black lawn signs have popped up in every corner of the state urging a "no" vote on the convention question. In some neighborhoods in the Capital Region, the signs have become at least as ubiquitous, if not more so, as lawn signs supporting either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton a year ago.

The signs were created by New York State United Teachers. But an accounting for them doesn't appear anywhere in records submitted to the Board of Elections. 

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Source: Politico (via The Empire Report)