September 12, 2009 Councilman Bill de Blasio Friends of Bill de Blasio 2009 320 Seventh Avenue, #278 Brooklyn, NY 11215 Dear Councilman de Blasio, I write again to express my concern regarding the secrecy and obfuscation regarding your campaign's relationship with the WFP and its affiliated entities. As evidence mounts, it seems more apparent that you and your associates are engaged in a massive cover-up to deny legally required information to government agencies and the public. The Daily News has reported that the WFP’s mandatory pre-election filings with the State Board of Elections have not been made. Thus, there is no way for the public to know how much money has been put into Data and Field Services (DFS) to potentially subsidize campaigns such as yours. Just as I've urged you to have your campaign make full disclosure of its contracts, and to make public all documentation submitted to the Campaign Finance Board (CFB), I also urge you to publicly call on your vendor, the WFP, to immediately make its due disclosure. The CFB has raised very serious questions which in fact have not yet been resolved. The WFP has been ruled indistinguishable from Data and Field Services, and yet has been funneling money into the company, where its spending does not need to be disclosed. It is important for the public to know how much additional money has been put into DFS's coffers. Additionally, new revelations have been published, including the fact that you have been paid directly by a WFP-affiliated lobbying organization while you were a Member of the City Council. It appears that after informing the city's Conflict of Interest Board (COIB) that you would be paid $6,000, you were in fact paid $33,000 to call on the same editorial boards, politicians and organizations from whom you have sought support in this race, and that you failed to disclose that the indistinguishable affiliates of your employer lobby the City Council on which you serve. A release of the letter you sent to the city's COIB to generate the published opinion is immediately necessary, as is a full disclosure of what you did while being paid tens of thousands of dollars by a lobbying group. Did you disclose to the COIB that the lobbying group is controlled by the same individuals and organizations who control the WFP and who lobby the City Council? Did you disclose to COIB that the lobbying group shares office space with a political organization that lobbies the Council and endorses Council candidates? When
34-12 36th Street, Suite 131 • Astoria, NY • 11106 • 718.706.5095 (P) • 212.937.2230 (F)
government officials are paid by lobbyists, it raises the specter of a city for sale, and given the lobbying group's affiliation with the WFP, raises serious questions on your ability to serve as an independent watchdog. It is unfathomable that a candidate running for the job to be the people’s advocate would continue to participate in an arrangement of concealed payments and front organizations without uttering a word of rebuke to the parties involved or at a minimum demand that they immediately comply with all financial disclosure laws. Sincerely yours,
Eric Gioia
34-12 36th Street, Suite 131 • Astoria, NY • 11106 • 718.706.5095 (P) • 212.937.2230 (F)