Did Harrison mayor send campaign email on town's listserv? And is that illegal?
An email message from Harrison Town Supervisor Richard Dionisio went out to residents on the town's listserv this week, containing campaign-style language as an apparent last-ditch effort to influence voters before Tuesday's election.
Dionisio is running for re-election next week for his seat as town supervisor and mayor (Harrison is both a town and village.)
Titled "A Message from the Mayor," the Oct. 31 email, sent from Dionisio's official town email address, begins by calling out "those running against me" in the upcoming supervisor election, an apparent reference to the Democratic candidate, Mark Jaffe, and a write-in candidate, Ron Belmont, who previously served in Harrison's dual supervisor/mayor position from 2012 to 2021.
In the email, Dionisio said his challengers "have chosen to mislead and misrepresent," though he cautions that he is "not interested in smearing my opponents." He further references the campaign by noting "every bullet point they [the other candidates] send out."
The rest of the email blast recounts his accomplishments in office over the last two years, and notes that he will "continue to focus on the facts during the remainder of my campaign."
In an emailed statement, Dionisio distanced himself from the creation of the mailer, saying he had "no knowledge regarding the origination of the email or which, if any, of the persons working on my campaign may have mailed it."
It is not clear who on his campaign would have had access to a governmental listserv.
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Is this allowed? What Harrison's ethics code says
The Harrison code of ethics, like many municipal codes of ethics, prohibits the use of official resources "for personal convenience or profit."
The campaign-style communication using governmental resources "crossed the line," according to attorney Steve Leventhal, a municipal ethics expert and co-chair of the New York State Bar Association's Ethics and Professionalism Committee.
"In the first sentence, he specifically refers to his electoral opponents," said Leventhal. "That is political speech. He’s got every First Amendment right to say those things as a candidate, but not as a mayor."
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Leventhal believes that Dionisio's communication clearly ran afoul of Harrison's code of ethics by "making personal use of town resources" and "using the town's web server for personal, political purposes."
The code of ethics is a local law and is part of the town code. Violating the ethics code "knowingly and intentionally" is punishable as a misdemeanor, and any official convicted for such a violation must also "forfeit his office," according to the code.
How did Dionisio's election opponents respond?
Both Jaffe and Belmont blasted the communication. Jaffe called it "yet another in a series of questionable acts that indicate he is unfit for office."
Belmont released a statement calling the email "a brazen act of arrogance and/or ignorance" and referred to it as an illegal act. Belmont estimated that the cost of organizing a comparable email list for a political campaign could run around $3,000.
He added that he would refer the matter to the state Board of Elections.
Asher Stockler is a reporter for The Journal News and the USA Today Network New York. You can find him on Twitter at @quasiasher or send him an email at astockler@lohud.com. Reach him securely: asher.stockler@protonmail.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Did Harrison NY mayor Richard Dionisio use town listserv for campaign?
