News
Peter Yacobellis answers questions about his Montclair council campaign finances
Last year, former councilman Peter Yacobellis altered Montclair’s political playing field with his decision to drop his candidacy for mayor in the May 14 election, and did so again – just eight weeks later – when he announced that he had resigned from his position on the dais and was already on her way to a new home in Washington state.
Immediately following the premature conclusion of his first and only City Council term, Yacobellis filed his most recent campaign finance report, dated October 15. He began that quarter with $7,651 left from a formidable war chest of $112,264.
But by the end of May, more than a week after the election and seven months since leaving office, Yacobellis had not filed a report with the NJ Election Law Enforcement Commission outlining how the remains of his political cannon had been spent.
“I thought at least the first quarter would have been filed by now,” Yacobellis said Friday, noting that he had submitted the last part of his paperwork to his campaign treasurer, Kim Szezorak, and that final reports were expected to be posted on the website from ELEC. in the next two weeks.
Former Montclair Councilman Peter Yacobellis
In a letter to the editor of the nonprofit Montclair Local, resident Lauren Berman questioned expenses outlined in the October lawsuit, including a $1,763 payment for Apple computers — a MacBook Pro sells for $1,715 after the addition of the California sales tax – just six days after he dropped his bid for mayor and paid $690 to The Economist the day before.
ELEC guidelines allow a sitting official to use campaign funds to perform their elected duties, with some caveats: including a prohibition on operating expenses of a government-provided workspace, which Montclair councilors do not have, while Supplies for an employee’s home office pass the commission’s smell test, as long as their use facilitates the county’s business.
“There’s a delay in terms of wrapping things up,” Yacobellis said of the numerous payments that appear to have been not only paid but incurred in the months between his decision to drop out of this month’s race and his council seat’s vacation.
For example, the huge $690 payment to The Economist was the renewal of a three-month subscription that was automatically deducted from his account, he said. Shortly after speaking with The Record/NorthJersey.com, the former candidate said he contacted the magazine’s publisher and would receive a subscription credit and donate the stack of back issues that had likely accumulated in his mailbox. campaign for the public library. .
The story continues
A long list of conspicuous uses, including three separate accounts at local restaurants labeled as employee food, of which he had none at meal time, and eight accounts at similar establishments attributed to “fundraising,” which Yacobellis said were ” appreciation lunches” with supporters and former campaign staff, although some took place up to five weeks after the end of his campaign.
“There was a delay in all of this,” he said of the timing. “The people who volunteered or worked on my campaign found out an hour before the general public. There were a few weeks of shock and awe for some people, and so I took the time to sit down with people and talk to them” his decision.
Another expense, $107, for printing new checks at the end of September, went to issuing refunds to donors. A $1,000 payment to Laptop Upcycle for “office supplies” was a clerical error and actually a charitable contribution, which the nonprofit confirmed.
A $329 storage space in Bloomfield was used to store leftover campaign materials that accumulated in the home he shared with his former domestic partner when the couple ended their relationship and Yacobellis moved to the Pacific Northwest.
In addition to its latency, expenses could fall within the limits of ELEC’s “six allowable uses” of campaign funds, which can draw a fine line between campaign and personal use when your accounting is left to just a few words on paper, and whether Yacobellis’ recollections are accurate.
The next order will show how the remaining funds were disbursed, according to Yacobellis, who said the “delay” allowed outstanding obligations to exceed the remaining $7,000 and required him to dip into his own pocket to settle with his treasurer and the service from the web. which hosted his “Peter for Montclair” email.
“There’s just a problem when you write checks and charge things.” he said.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Former Montclair councilman answers questions about his campaign finances