A village on Long Island used taxpayer resources to promote a campaign rally headlined by House minority leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) in violation of local, state, and federal laws, a watchdog group alleged in a complaint Monday.
Jeffries was the headline speaker for an Oct. 17 "Get Out The Vote" rally on Long Island to support Democrats up and down the ticket, including New York Democratic congressional hopeful Laura Gillen, who is in one of the most competitive House elections this cycle. Prior to the rally, the Village of Hempstead used its taxpayer-funded social media accounts to promote the rally in posts suggesting to taxpayers the event would be a civic, nonpartisan voter registration drive staffed by the Nassau County Board of Elections. Meanwhile, the New York Democratic Party said in its own posts promoting the event that it would be a campaign rally for Gillen, Jeffries, and a slew of other New York Democrats.
As Democrats promised, the rally was explicitly partisan. Jeffries took to the stage at the event and urged attendees to "elect Democrats," including rally attendee Gillen, "up and down the ballot." The minority leader also said Gillen's victory would help Democrats take back control of the House of Representatives. The rally venue, a property owned by the Village of Hempstead, was replete with political paraphernalia, including a "New York State Democrats" banner and Gillen's campaign branding at the podium where Jeffries and other attendees spoke.
The rally presents serious legal problems for the Village of Hempstead, the Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) alleged in a Monday watchdog complaint obtained by the Washington Free Beacon. The ethics group says the town, in its posts promoting the rally, crossed a clear legal red line by using taxpayer resources to campaign for Democrats.
"In this country, the government at any level is simply not allowed to be involved in partisan politics—this is embodied in numerous laws at the local, state, and federal level," Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust executive director Kendra Arnold told the Free Beacon. "In this case, the event was clearly planned and carried out as a political one, and the evidence shows the government was involved from the beginning and throughout. The rally's promotion, where it was held, staffing of the event, and attendance by government employees—all indicate the violations were many and unmistakable."
The watchdog complaint comes as reports show Jeffries's links to a Democratic effort to boost third-party candidates in three key swing districts across the country, a last-ditch effort to siphon support away from the Republican candidates and help deliver Democrats control of the House.
FACT in its complaint cites New York Post reporting that alleged the Village of Hempstead and its Democratic mayor, Waylyn Hobbs Jr., deceived the Nassau County Board of Elections into providing staff for the Oct. 17 rally under the false impression it would be a nonpartisan voter registration drive.
"It was wrong of Laura Gillen to try and trick the public by misusing a taxpayer-funded government building for her campaign," Nassau County Republican Party chairman Joseph Cairo told the Post. "She apparently even fooled Village officials, who advertised the event as a voter registration drive on official government social media pages."
A spokesman for Nassau County executive Bruce Blakeman (R.) said Blakeman agrees with Cairo's assessment and called on Democrats to refund Hempstead taxpayers for "an event that was supposed to be a voter registration drive."
"In her latest stunt, Laura Gillen misused taxpayer-funded governmental resources for a political campaign rally," Blakeman spokesman Chris Boyle told the Post.
FACT's complaint urges Village of Hempstead ethics officials to investigate and hold accountable "anyone who used government resources" to help promote the rally.
"There was a government endorsement of a political event," the watchdog group says in the complaint. "It should alarm both Town and Village ethics officials that such a blatant violation of public trust could occur on their watch."
The Village of Hempstead did not return a request for comment.