Belated Boyland filings show she outraised Montgomery, used same firm as Ratner

So much for the "$100 mystery campaign." Overdue campaign finance filings from 18th Senatorial District candidate Tracy Boyland, who unsuccessfully challenged incumbent (and Atlantic Yards opponent) Velmanette Montgomery, show that the former City Council member, despite a candidacy launched two months before the September primary, indeed raised more than the $100 she reported at election time.

In less than three months, Boyland outraised Montgomery, $92,177 to $91,427, relying significantly on the building industry. (Montgomery's total covers two years, and she outspent Boyland overall; see below.)

Was Boyland, in fact, the "Ratner candidate," as some charged? Not exactly, but there were some signficant intersections. As predicted by a source in the Crain's Insider, Boyland indeed used the same consulting firm--Knickerbocker SKD--that FCR uses for its deceptive Atlantic Yards mailers. (As noted, Boyland told the Brooklyn Papers that she's friends with FCR's Bruce Bender, a former top City Council aide.)

Boyland spent $37,000 on Knickerbocker SKD's services. The candidate, who made virtually no publicly scheduled campaign appearances and avoided questions from reporters and newspaper editorial boards, inundated voters with mailings and also had campaign workers put up numerous posters and hand out literature outside polling places.

Ratner ties?

Only a few contributors might be linked to Atlantic Yards or Forest City Ratner. Boyland received $2500 from Richard Lipsky, who serves as a Ratner lobbyist but also has independent interests as head of the Neighborhood Retail Alliance. She also got $500 from Dolly Williams, who runs a construction firm, owns a piece of the New Jersey Nets, and serves as the Brooklyn representative on the City Planning Commission. (Williams recused herself from the commission's recent Atlantic Yards discussion.)

[Update: Copstat Security, which gave Boyland $3100, is contracted (see p. 49 of PDF) by Forest City Ratner to work in the Atlantic Yards footprint. Copstat has numerous other clients, as well.]

Also note that a push-poll touting the Atlantic Yards project backed Boyland.

Montgomery outspent Boyland

Note that Montgomery raised that $91,427 sum over two years. Given that she already had $57,331.50 in her campaign coffers at the beginning of 2005, she wound up outspending Boyland overall: $124,871 over two years. Montgomery got significant support from a variety of unions, as well as from other Democratic candidates.

A real campaign?

After the election, the New York Times, in the Empire Zone blog, described Boyland's run as a "late, not-quite-serious, and never-quite-official challenge" and mused, "Although that 33 percent Ms. Boyland got with a couple of fliers, nary a public campaign appearance, a few dollars in contributions makes you wonder what she could’ve done with a real campaign."

Boyland, as I and other pointed out, ran her own kind of "real campaign." It's just that she didn't file her 11-day pre-primary report, due September 1, until after September 19, and her 10-day post-primary report, due September 22, until after October 5.

Contributions to Boyland

Boyland's filing shows several contributions from those associated with the construction and building maintenance industry, as well as other large contributions from entities in Brooklyn--and some murky companies. Several of those contributions may have connections to the Boyland political dynasty in the eastern sections of Brooklyn.

Among them were $3100 contributions from ABCO Maintenance, Academic Stone Setters, Colony Pest Management, Copstat Security, and H&L Electric.

Boyland got $6000 from The Carey Group, lobbyists that represent the real estate industry, among others. Boyland got a $5500 contribution from JAJ Consulting on September 25--nearly two weeks after her loss. (Anybody know more about JAJ?) She got $5000 from the Local 4 Action Fund of the IATSE, which represents theatrical stage employees, supplying the crews for television, live theater, concerts, and more, within Brooklyn and Queens. She also got $5000 from MMG Fat Free and One Stop Promotions.

Other contributions include $3500 from the Mason Tenders PAC; $3000 from G&L Consulting and also Metro Valuation Group; $2500 from Seasons Industrial Contracting, from Century Coverage Corporation, and from Harrison, Dillon, Bond & Williams (which shares the same address with Century Coverage); $2500 from Plumbers Local Union #1; $2000 from Mayer, Girgio; $1500 from developer John Catsimatidis; $1000 from R&J Brick Masonry, Lovett Silverman Construction Consultants, and from Brookdale Hospital executive David Rosen; and $500 from Danois Architects.