ALBANY – An upstate GOP state senate candidate’s campaign allegedly paid homeless people to claim they made donations to him, allowing him to net matching taxpayer funds, a report says.
Several homeless men in Auburn told the Albany Times Union in a story published Friday that Caleb Slater’s campaign offered them $30 a pop to sign paperwork saying they donated $250 to his run in November.
This way, Slater, who ultimately lost his bid for office, could allegedly receive public funds from the state that match contributions up to $250, the paper noted.
At least seven people who spoke to the outlet say they never contributed to Slater‘s campaign but were paid to submit contribution forms. One man said he was asked to recruit other straw donors as well.
A photo apparently taken during the campaign and shared with The Post also seems to show someone with Slater‘s campaign posted at a table on a street corner with a sign offering to give people free $25 Visa gift cards in exchange for $10, which would be illegal under state campaign finance rules.
Slater’s campaign ultimately netted $22,000 from the state public financing system before he was trounced by incumbent Democratic state Sen. Rachel May (D-Onondaga) in the general election. May won with 58% of the vote.
Slater did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.
But he first told the Times Union that its reporting was “inaccurate.
“Your facts are incorrect,” he texted the outlet. “At this time, I have nothing to say.”
He then followed up by telling the outlet that he was contacting the Public Campaign Finance Board, saying, “Within these questions are statements that I am learning of for the first time.”
A rep for the state Board of Elections declined to confirm the existence of a possible investigation into the campaign to The Post.
“The [Public Campaign Finance Board] has a number of audit and anti-fraud measures in place, and the PCFB enforcement unit is proud to work alongside law enforcement agencies to ensure any alleged violations are treated seriously,” a board rep only said.
State Sen. George Borrello, who leads the senate GOP’s campaign arm, told The Post, “Caleb Slater was never endorsed by the Senate Republican Campaign Committee or any of our members.
“Unfortunately, the primary voters did not vote our way. He received no resources from us even after the primary.”
Last year’s elections were the first cycle in which New York provided funds to candidates based on small-dollar donations.
