Board warns party helping Ferrer

[Judi Lynn]

Board warns party helping Ferrer

BY WILLIAM MURPHY
STAFF WRITER

November 3, 2005

The flagging and underfinanced mayoral campaign of Democrat Fernando Ferrer has been getting help from the state Democratic Party, despite a veiled warning that it might be breaking the law by doing so.

The state Democratic Party has engaged in almost daily attacks, often by e-mails to reporters, on Republican Michael Bloomberg, and sometimes takes the same line of attack as the Ferrer campaign.

The Campaign Finance Board had warned the party in mid-October that such activity could be considered a campaign contribution and subject to penalties if it exceeded the cap of $4,950 per contributor.

Board rules presume that spending by a party to help its nominee or attack the nominee's opponent is an in-kind contribution to the candidate.
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http://www.newsday.com/news/local/newyork/ny-nycfb034495832nov03,0,3893169.story?coll=ny-nycpolitics-headlines