Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.
Q&A
Council Member Brewer questions the legality of city employees volunteering for political campaigns
3:04:37
·
103 sec
Council Member Gale A. Brewer inquires about the legality of city employees volunteering for political campaigns while maintaining their city jobs. Paul Seamus Ryan, Executive Director of the NYC Campaign Finance Board, explains the rules regarding in-kind contributions and potential conflicts of interest.
- Ryan clarifies that if an employee is being paid by their employer while volunteering for a campaign, it counts as an in-kind contribution.
- The discussion touches on potential issues with the Conflicts of Interest Board for city employees engaging in such activities.
- Ryan emphasizes that even if someone claims to be volunteering, if they're being paid during that time, it's considered an in-kind contribution to the campaign.
Gale A. Brewer
3:04:37
Thank you.
3:04:38
Picking up on, chair Wessler's question.
3:04:40
So if somebody works for the city, like a city job, and they're volunteering for the campaign but it's a, you know, it's a substantial job in the campaign, is that legal?
3:04:51
It always seemed to me kind of strange.
3:04:55
You're working for the city.
3:04:56
You get a city paycheck and you are have a fairly substantial role in the campaign.
Paul Seamus Ryan
3:05:04
I think we are now at least in part perhaps in the realm of the conflicts of interest board, not my area of expertise or my agency in terms of any restrictions on specific types of employees doing any sort of partisan work.
3:05:17
But setting that aside and sticking to the campaign finance law application, again the rule is if you are actually being paid by someone or an entity by an employer to work for a campaign, and I'm talking literally the hours that you're volunteering, you're knocking on doors for the campaign, you're on the clock for an employer, that employer is making an in kind contribution to the campaign.
Gale A. Brewer
3:05:39
But if you're working for the city, I don't know if that would be an in kind campaign contribution?
Paul Seamus Ryan
3:05:44
It would be.
3:05:46
And you know, and it it would still be subject to amounts.
3:05:50
This New York City, I suspect that the individual who's engaging in that conduct has bigger problems perhaps even than the city would as an illegal contributor to a campaign.
3:06:01
That employee is probably going to have problems with the conflict of interest board for city time But by the books, yes, if someone says that they're volunteering for a campaign but they're not actually a volunteer, they're being paid, An in kind contribution is being made to the campaign.
Gale A. Brewer
3:06:19
Alright, thank you.