ACORN, the Working Families Party and Political Corruption, Part I

[Ed Note: Recently, City Hall in New York published an amazing multi-part investigative piece on possible corruption, illegal activities and general shadiness within the multi-pronged Working Families Party in New York. For those of you searching for examples of what investigative journalism used to be like, this series is a good place to start. Under the direction of lead reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere, the series explored the tangled web the Party in New York. Big Government readers will note that one of the co-chairs of the Party is Working Families Party is Bertha Lewis, CEO of ACORN. So, for those keeping score at home, this is the second organization headed by Lewis is that marked by opaque and confusing interrelationships and ethically-challenged legal boundaries. Hmm, what are the odds? Today begins Part I]

In August, City Hall published an investigative report explaining the operations of the Working Families Party’s for-profit company, Data & Field Services. In early September, after conducting its own review, the New York City Campaign Finance Board officially declared that “DFS exists as an arm of the Working Families Party.” Over the last three months, City Hall has continued the investigation, relying on dozens of interviews with people within and outside the organization, in addition to a review of tax, lobbying and campaign finance records, as well as confidential internal documents.

Following weeks of in-depth inquiries from City Hall, the Working Families Party announced on Nov. 6 that it was hiring the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom to conduct a review of its practices, with the effort to be led by Judith Kaye, the former chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: ACORN, ACORN politics, acorn scandal, Bertha Lewis, Center for Working Families
Posted Dec 15th 2009 at 6:03 am in ACORN, Big Labor, Featured Story, Politics, State Politics | 4659444 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/publius/2009/12/15/acorn-the-working-families-party-and-political-corruption-part-i/ACORN%2C+the+Working+Families+Party+and+Political+Corruption%2C+Part+I2009-12-15+14%3A03%3A00Publius

Alleged Corruption In Obama’s Working Families Party: ‘Inside The DFS Experience’

Recently, Michelle Malkin reported on a scandal brewing in President Obama’s other party, the Working Families Party.

The Working Families Party, an ACORN front group whose ballot line Newt Gingrich-endorsed radical leftist Dede Scozzafava has embraced on multiple occasions, is up to no good again.

And now, Big Government is reporting on the birth of a new website entitled Nutbusterz, devoted to aggregating all of the scandal coverage of the working Families Party.

Nutbusterz will serve serve as a clearinghouse for media coverage of the illegal activities of ACORN. Media reports on ACORN and the New York Working Families Party (WFP) will be updated daily. Candidates and causes that ally themselves with ACORN will be exposed and held to account.

We would like to point all interested parties toward a series of articles which warrant consideration for inclusion at Nutbusterz, written by a local NY publication called City Hall.

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: ACORN, ACORN corruption, Barack Obama, City Hall, DFS
Posted Oct 30th 2009 at 7:27 am in ACORN, Big Labor, Politics, State Politics | 2265419 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/amarcus/2009/10/30/alleged-corruption-in-obamas-working-families-party-inside-the-dfs-experience/Alleged+Corruption+In+Obama%27s+Working+Families+Party%3A+%27Inside+The+DFS+Experience%272009-10-30+14%3A27%3A28Andrew++Marcus

WORKING FAMILIES PARTY = ACORN; What Will AG Cuomo Do?

Media coverage of ACORN and that organization’s illegal activities in New York, California and elsewhere has largely ignored one of ACORN’s most successful projects; New York’s Working Families Party (WFP). 

Because of the unique nature of New York State election law, candidates are allowed to be endorsed and appear on the voting machine ballot as the candidate of multiple parties, winning the cumulative total of all votes cast for that candidate on multiple party lines.  Minor parties such as the Conservative, Liberal and Right to Life Party have played significant roles in New York politics.

The Working Families Party is not about working people or families and it isn’t really a party.  The WFP is a wholly owned subsidiary of ACORN.  Bertha Lewis co-chair of the Working Families Party is the Executive Director of New York ACORN.  New York ACORN leader, Steven Kest was the moving force in forming the party and WFP headquarters are located at the same address as ACORN’s national and New York office at 88 Third Avenue in Brooklyn, New York. 

WFP is essentially a money funnel which pays for an aggressive door to door canvas.  Largely funded by unions, the WFP is ACORN’s “political arm” in New York State.  Candidates supported by the Working Families Party and issues supported by ACORN are both advocated on the door steps of target voter homes as they share one major voter canvas. 

(more…)

Email this to a friend | Print | Share on Facebook | Tweet this |

Tags: Andrew Cuomo, Bertha Lewis, Bill de Blasio, Brad Lander, Brooklyn
Posted Sep 17th 2009 at 6:00 am in ACORN, Politics | 382679 Commentshttp://biggovernment.com/rstone/2009/09/17/working-families-party-acorn-what-will-ag-cuomo-do/WORKING+FAMILIES+PARTY+%3D+ACORN%3B+What+Will+AG+Cuomo+Do%3F+2009-09-17+13%3A00%3A47Roger+Stone