NEW YORK – George Maragos who is running as the Democratic candidate for Nassau County Executive has loaned his past three campaigns a combined $3.1 million — a method used by candidates looking to make their campaigns more attractive to outside donors, as reported in New York Newsday.
According to state and federal campaign finance records Maragos repaid himself $2.89 million after winning his country comptroller campaigns twice and after the loss in the 2012 US Senate race. Maragos’ successful private technology firm has earned him millions of dollars, but the campaign loans seem not to have increased contributions by much.
After a loan of $1 million in 2013, he raised just $57,000 for his re-election bid as comptroller. After a loan of $1.9 million to his Senate campaign, donations amounted to $76,000.
Last year, Maragos, switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democratic and is running against Legis. Laura Curran (D-Baldwin) in the county executive primary this September.
Maragos loaned his county executive campaign $1 million last July and another $450,000 in January. The amount of money spent will be reported on July 17 when candidates make their fundraising and expenses known.
Making loans to campaigns and then repaying them is legal for candidates and there is no limit on how much money can be loaned. Campaign finance experts suggest that it can give “an unfair advantage to wealthy candidates who try to use loans to persuade prospective donors to take their campaigns seriously,” as reported in Newsday.
“People like to give to a winner and one way to show you are a winner is the amount of money in your campaign account,” said Ian Vandewalker, senior counsel for the Democracy Program at the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, a nonpartisan law and policy institute, as reported in Newsday.
Michael Malbin, executive director of the Campaign Finance Institute, a nonpartisan research group in Washington told Newsday, “Lending money to your own campaign lets you create a war chest that might or might not scare off potential opponents without having to raise the money from donors.”
Maragos, who declined to be interviewed by Newsday, issued a statement, “I funded my previous campaigns with all the resources needed without relying on special interest money. I intend to spend what is necessary to win without wasting money, while maintaining my independence.”
In his first run for Nassau comptroller in July 2009, Maragos loaned his campaign $200,000 but the state campaign finance records indicate that after that, he received no outside contributions.
Maragos and Republican county executive candidate Edward Mangano, both won in an upset. After the election, Maragos’ campaign repaid him almost $73,000, records indicate, as Newsday reported.
In his unsuccessful bid for the Republican nomination for US Senate in 2010, Maragos, who was not chosen at the party’s convention, raised under $13,000 and did not make loans to his campaign.
In 2012, Maragos tried again for the GOP nomination, this time against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.). He lent $1.94 million to his campaign and finished in third place at the Republican primary. After refunding himself $1.84 million, Maragos later paid a $5,000 fine when the Federal Election Commission found the details of the loans had been misreported.
After his successful 2013 re-election campaign in which he loaned $1,001,000 to the campaign, Maragos was repaid $984,000.
Michael Dawidziak, a Bohemia political consultant who works mostly with the GOP, said seasoned politicians know that loans are a political maneuver used in order to mislead their opponents. “Candidates who are serious about using their own money, make direct contributions to their campaigns, which are not refundable,” he said as reported in Newsday.
Michael Bloomberg donated $250 million total for his three successful campaigns for New York City mayor. New Jersey Democrat Jon Corzine spent $130 million of his own money in his winning campaign for US Senate in 2000, and for two gubernatorial campaigns, only one of which was successful.
Dawidziak said, as reported in Newsday, “No serious candidate should ever be scared off because of a personal loan. If a candidate really believes in himself, make it a direct contribution.”
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