Council District 30 Special Election

The Mayor has called a special election to be held on June 3, 2008 to fill the vacancy in Council District 30 due to the resignation of the incumbent council member. This June 3rd special election is a nonpartisan election to fill the seat until the regularly scheduled elections are held this fall. This page gives an overview of the steps you need to take to run for this office and provide links to the forms you will need. You should also contact the Candidate Services Unit (CSU) at 212-306-7100 (if you have not done so already) for assistance, so you can get started campaigning right away!

If you wish to participate in the voluntary matching funds program, you must file a Certification by April 25, 2008. Candidates who do not want to participate in the Program must submit a Filer Registration (FR) by May 2, 2008 — the deadline for the first disclosure statement for this special election.

If a Campaign Currently Has a 2009 Committee

A campaign may use an existing 2009 committee and bank account for the 2008 special election. The campaign will have to amend its committee with both the City and State Boards of Elections. The committee will also have to file a 2008A Special Election Filer Registration or — to join the voluntary Campaign Finance Program and be eligible to qualify for matching funds — the committee must file a 2008A Certification. If the campaign is already using C‑SMART for the 2009 election, contact CSU to obtain C-SMART for the 2008 special election and have the current data uploaded into the new software.

If the Campaign is Just Getting Started

Before raising or spending money, all committees must obtain an Employer Identification Number (EIN) from the IRS, authorize a new committee with the City and State Board of Elections (BOE), and open a bank account in the committee’s name.

1. Obtain an EIN, which allows the campaign to open a committee bank account, using an application you can download from the IRS website (Keyword: SS‑4).
2. After receiving the EIN, authorize the committee with the New York City BOE and New York State BOE. You can download the three forms you need using these links to City BOE’s website:
   
   Committee Designation of Treasurer and Depository
   Committee Statement of Authorization or Non-Authorization by Candidates
   Candidate Committee Authorization and Non-Expenditure Statement
   
   A campaign must open one (and only one) committee if it anticipates seeking public funds.
3. After receiving the EIN and authorizing a committee with the City and State BOE, the campaign must open a bank account in the committee’s name.

Candidates who ran for office in a previous election must open a new committee bank account and they must be careful to avoid commingling funds. Candidates interested in transferring money from an old bank account into their current 2008 or 2009 bank account should call CSU for assistance.

Complying with the Campaign Finance Act

1. Attend a Mandatory Compliance and C‑SMART Training — Campaigns are required to send the candidate, treasurer, campaign manager, or an individual with significant managerial control over the campaign to a compliance and C‑SMART training. If the campaign has not yet attended a training for the special election, please call CSU to register.
2. Submit a 2008A C-SMART Request Form — C-SMART is the software all committees must use to submit disclosure statements to the CFB and the City and State BOEs. If the campaign is already using C‑SMART for the 2009 election, contact CSU to obtain C-SMART for the 2008 Special Election and have the current data uploaded into the new software.

3. Register with the CFB — All candidates for this special election must register with the CFB by submitting a Filer Registration (FR) by the first disclosure deadline or, if they wish to join the voluntary matching funds program (Program) by submitting a Certification by April 25, 2008.

Contributions, Expenditures, and Public Funds

Please review the 2008A Special Election contribution limits, spending limits, and public funds requirements.

Below are some helpful facts and rules about contributions — and for candidates who join the Program, about expenditures and public funds requirements — in this special election.

Contributions
Contributions are presumed to be accepted for the first election in which a candidate runs after the contributions are received. If a campaign received contributions greater than the $1,375 limit on or before April 10, 2008, it may, without penalty:

• Refund the excess portion (over $1,375) to the contributor, or
• Attribute the excess portion to the 2008 or 2009 elections.

This must be done before filing the Certification or FR. If a campaign accepted contributions in excess of $1,375 after April 10, 2008, it will be in violation of the Campaign Finance Act and may be subject to penalties. (For more information, see Board Advisory Opinion 2008-3.) Please contact the Candidate Services Unit for guidance if the campaign has accepted an over-the-limit contribution.

Expenditures and Spending Limits
Participants in the Program must comply with strict spending limits (non-participating candidates are not subject to spending limits). Please note that all expenditures made before the special election, including those originally intended to be for the 2009 elections, will be presumed to be made for this special election and will count toward the spending limit for this election. As in any election, only expenditures made in the election year can be paid for with public funds (for this special election, that means only expenditures made in 2008).

Previous Financial Transactions
If a campaign filed disclosure statements with the CFB and the City BOE in anticipation of the 2009 elections, these statements will be considered filed for the special election even though they were initially intended to be filed for the 2009 elections.

Public Funds Eligibility
Campaigns that wish to be eligible for public matching funds must join the Program by submitting a Certification no later than April 25, 2008. To qualify for public financing, candidates must demonstrate adequate public support by meeting a two-part threshold; the candidate must appear on the special election ballot and have an opponent on the ballot; and the candidate must have filed with the Conflict of Interest Board (COIB).

Public Disclosure Requirements

All candidates must file disclosure statements with the CFB as soon as the campaign has any financial activity, even if the campaign does not claim or receive public funds. C-SMART produces all the required disclosure statements for the CFB,
the City BOE, and the State BOE. The CFB recommends that campaigns file disclosure statements electronically (over the Internet). This will remove the need for a disk and simplify the process, but all backup documentation must still be submitted either by hand or through the mail.

Running in the 2008 and 2009 Elections

The 2008 and 2009 primary and general elections are separate from the June 3rd Special Election. If a campaign joins the Program for the 2008 or 2009 elections, it will be required to meet the threshold again for each election even though it may have met the threshold for the special election. Remember, a campaign must open a new bank account and authorize a new committee for each election cycle. Please note that the contribution limits, spending limits, and public funds requirements for the 2008 and 2009 elections differ from the limits for the special election. The 2008 limits and requirements will be available soon; the 2009 limits and requirements are here.