Joanne Gray Screwed Up
06-14-2007, 11:03 PM
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BY RICK BRAND AND STACEY ALTHERR
rick.brand@newsday.com
stacey.altherr@newsday.com
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June 14, 2007, 7:16 PM EDT
The Smithtown Board of Ethics has ruled that maverick Republican town board member Joanne Gray should pay a $3,500 fine because she used her town office to send out "political mail" which contained refrigerator magnets that were paid for out of campaign funds.
The bipartisan board found Gray's actions "willful" and recommended that its findings be turned over to Suffolk District Attorney Thomas J. Spota for possible criminal prosecution.
However, Gray, who is fighting for her political life in a primary, assailed the board as "lacking credibility" and bng "politically motivated" and says she has "no plans" for paying the fine.
Gray, who did not participate in the board's hearings, said, "This ethics issue was designed long ago to drop in my lap right at this time." The ruling came one day after candidates are authorized to begin circulating petitions to get on the primary ballot. Gray also said DA investigators interviewed her months ago and found nothing to prosecute.
The three-member board issued its ruling late Wednesday, and the rest of the town board in a confidential memo to Town Attorney Yvonne Lieffrig authorized Lieffrig to "take any and all action" to implement the ruling. Town officials could not say yesterday whether Gray's salary could be docked or if the town would have to go to court to collect.
Gray's husband, Lawrence, who is acting as her attorney, said the town has "no authority" to impose any fine and the ruling is only aimed at "deflecting attention away" from DA probes of other Republicans officials, like former highway superintendent Edmund Lynch, who last week pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds.
The ruling comes after Republican town board member Edward Wehrhm, Gray's primary foe, filed a complaint last November about Gray's mailing. Wehrhm said his complaint was not politically motivated but that Gray "stepped over the line" when she included her magnet and charged taxpayers for her mailings. He added she could have resolved the issue months ago if she had admitted her mistake and paid the $504 cost for postage.
In its seven-page decision, the board found that Gray's mailing of l 800 pieces to alert residents about an upcoming boat slip lottery was "actually a political mailing, and not an official mailing of the town."
The board based that ruling on the fact that the mailing included a newspaper article favorable to Gray and magnets that were paid for out of her campaign funds, magnets that included an e-mail address, "www.friendsjg@aol.com," which is similar to the name of Gray's campaign fund, 'Friends of Joanne Gray.'"
Gray said only 200 magnets were sent out, and only half were paid for from campaign funds. However, she emphasized the magnets, which contained her picture and did not solicit votes, were her "business card" to make it easy for constituents to reach her. She also said that the email address is her personal e-mail address and has nothing to do with her campaign committee.
"She thinks that as long as you don't say 'vote for me' you can send out anything," Wehrhm said. "But that creates a slippery slope for politicians and I disagree with that 100 percent: taxpayers shouldn't have to spend one dime on anything connected to your political career."
BY RICK BRAND AND STACEY ALTHERR
rick.brand@newsday.com
stacey.altherr@newsday.com
Email this story
Printer friendly format
June 14, 2007, 7:16 PM EDT
The Smithtown Board of Ethics has ruled that maverick Republican town board member Joanne Gray should pay a $3,500 fine because she used her town office to send out "political mail" which contained refrigerator magnets that were paid for out of campaign funds.
The bipartisan board found Gray's actions "willful" and recommended that its findings be turned over to Suffolk District Attorney Thomas J. Spota for possible criminal prosecution.
However, Gray, who is fighting for her political life in a primary, assailed the board as "lacking credibility" and bng "politically motivated" and says she has "no plans" for paying the fine.
Gray, who did not participate in the board's hearings, said, "This ethics issue was designed long ago to drop in my lap right at this time." The ruling came one day after candidates are authorized to begin circulating petitions to get on the primary ballot. Gray also said DA investigators interviewed her months ago and found nothing to prosecute.
The three-member board issued its ruling late Wednesday, and the rest of the town board in a confidential memo to Town Attorney Yvonne Lieffrig authorized Lieffrig to "take any and all action" to implement the ruling. Town officials could not say yesterday whether Gray's salary could be docked or if the town would have to go to court to collect.
Gray's husband, Lawrence, who is acting as her attorney, said the town has "no authority" to impose any fine and the ruling is only aimed at "deflecting attention away" from DA probes of other Republicans officials, like former highway superintendent Edmund Lynch, who last week pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds.
The ruling comes after Republican town board member Edward Wehrhm, Gray's primary foe, filed a complaint last November about Gray's mailing. Wehrhm said his complaint was not politically motivated but that Gray "stepped over the line" when she included her magnet and charged taxpayers for her mailings. He added she could have resolved the issue months ago if she had admitted her mistake and paid the $504 cost for postage.
In its seven-page decision, the board found that Gray's mailing of l 800 pieces to alert residents about an upcoming boat slip lottery was "actually a political mailing, and not an official mailing of the town."
The board based that ruling on the fact that the mailing included a newspaper article favorable to Gray and magnets that were paid for out of her campaign funds, magnets that included an e-mail address, "www.friendsjg@aol.com," which is similar to the name of Gray's campaign fund, 'Friends of Joanne Gray.'"
Gray said only 200 magnets were sent out, and only half were paid for from campaign funds. However, she emphasized the magnets, which contained her picture and did not solicit votes, were her "business card" to make it easy for constituents to reach her. She also said that the email address is her personal e-mail address and has nothing to do with her campaign committee.
"She thinks that as long as you don't say 'vote for me' you can send out anything," Wehrhm said. "But that creates a slippery slope for politicians and I disagree with that 100 percent: taxpayers shouldn't have to spend one dime on anything connected to your political career."