As the backroom smoke clears from the 2006 primary, ballot watchers now have access to brand new election paperwork. Beginning with this election cycle, Civil Court filings (and other local races) are now archived at the state Board of Elections webpage.

 
These fascinating figures are only temporary, however.

 
So far this year, committees have filed three out of the six required forms that the Board of Elections uses to keep track of campaigns. According to the campaign financial disclosure form for local filers, they will file additional reports post-primary, pre-election, and post-election.

 
According to Lee Daghlian, the spokesperson for the board, the new reports have quadrupled his work this year: “With the addition of local filings, it’s a five- to sixfold increase of filings. We used to have 1,600 filers every election. Now it’s up this year to 7,000 or 8,000. Now you get town justices, village judges, you name it, we get it.”

These brand new filings give court watchers a rare look into the previously unscrutinized filings of Civil Court races.

Show Me the Money
While incumbent justices in Manhattan aren’t facing challengers this year, they still raise money for these uncontested races. According to filings, the Committee To Re-Elect Eileen Rakower has raised $16,400 this year, with more than $23,000 of those funds going to the consultancy firm, Metro Strategies LLC.

The Committee to Re-Elect Judge Arthur Birnbaum has raised $19,010 to date, spending more than $10,000 on his consultancy firm, Prime New York.

 
The Committee To Re-Elect Judge [Paul] Feinman reported $7,821 this year, with some $1,500 going to consultant Joanna Saccone, the rest having been spent at smaller fundraiser dinners and events around the city.

 
The campaigns for incumbent Civil Court justices Michael Stallman and Jane Solomon have not reported raising any money for the 2006 election.

In Brooklyn, Dena Douglas and Jacqueline D. Williams just won the two open Civil Court nods for the Democratic primary, beating four competitors while spending vastly disparate amounts of money. The Committee To Elect Dena Douglas has filed $50,641 in contributions with the Board of Elections, while the Committee To Elect Jacqueline D. Williams only filed $5,515.

In Richmond County, Civil Court races were actually more expensive than Manhattan this year. The Committee To Re-Elect Judge [Barbara Irolla] Panepinto collected $84,751 this year, while the Committee To Re-Elect Judge [Phillip] Straniere raised $25,003. Both these judges were uncontested in the borough-wide primary.

In a tight District 2 race on Staten Island, attorney Kim Dollard won the race for the only open spot on the ballot, beating Ralph Porzio for the Independent Party nomination. The Committee To Elect Kim Dollard Civil Court Judge raised $65,305 for this effort.

Daghlian expressed excitement about the new transparency in Civil Court races. He noted that many public interests groups now scrutinize funding, and the process has had “a huge effect” on reducing filing mistakes and preventing campaigns from bending the rules in Supreme Court races.

Now Civil Court races must comply with the same standard. “Our concern is to get the information entered into the system so that we and everybody else can see what’s going on,” he said.

Too Close To Call
This week the New York County Board of Elections held a recount to determine the outcome of a highly contested race on the lower East Side. While court watchers debated the race in blogs and the Daily News, the race teetered on an unofficial count that had Margaret Chan winning by less than 50 votes.

 
Newly released Civil Court campaign filings provide a snapshot of the expenses and contributions necessary to sustain a truly competitive race. 

 
According to her profile in The Villager, Chan has worked as an immigration lawyer for the last seven years. An immigrant from Hong Kong, she began her law career as a clerk in the Appellate Division.

Housing Court judge David Cohen was her main challenger, trailing in the race before the recount. A Columbia Law School graduate, Cohen joined the Housing Court in 2004 — appointed by Chief Administrative Judge Jonathan Lippman.

 
To date, the Committee to Elect David Cohen has raised a total of $134,172 for his campaign. More than $50,000 of that sum was spent on consultancy fees to the Manhattan's The Advance Group.  

In all, Cohen’s committee has recorded $81,516 in campaign contributions, a discrepancy that won't be cleared up until the post-election filings are posted.

According to Board of Election filings, his competitor has run a cheaper campaign. As of September 20, Friends of Margaret Chan had raised $58,673 and spent a total of $95,465 on the campaign.