Behind the political curtains

Yesterday brought a crystal-clear example of how political actors drive a news cycle on behalf of or against a candidate in an election. Before I go into it, let’s be clear: both major parties do this regularly.

I got a call from a Democratic party operative yesterday. He wanted to send me a copy of Republican Dede Scozzafava’s personal financial disclosure form for her candidacy in the 23rd Congressional district. (This form is in the public domain, but it wasn’t online; you had to go to a place in Washington to access it.) In it, she discloses she owns $1 to $5 million in preferred stock in Seaway Valley Capital Corporation, an investment company run by her brother, Thomas Scozzafava.

Seaway Valley owns the financially stressed Hacketts retail chain and is the subject of various lawsuits. Seaway Valley’s common stockholders have lost thousands of dollars as its stock has fallen to nearly nothing (today a share is worth two-hundredths of a penny). Dede’s shares haven’t lost that value because they’re preferred shares.

(I reported on some of this, including Dede’s explanation of her role in the company shortly after she declared her candidacy. Read that, including very angry comments from some of those common stockholders, here.)

The Democratic operative, I’m assuming, also sent that personal financial disclosure form to other media outlets because the subject is leading some 23rd district coverage today. You can see the form and a blog post here, and read a Watertown Daily Times story here.

Here’s where it gets really interesting. The Democratic party then sent out an e-mail highlighting the aforementioned blog post and print story. Of course, the e-mail didn’t cop to the fact that it was a Democratic operative who got the coverage started in the first place.

This is nothing new. It’s politics (and media). And it gives us a glimpse at how tough this campaign is going to be fought. The election hasn’t even been scheduled yet. Heck, the current 23rd district Congressman, John McHugh, hasn’t even vacated his seat yet!

Both parties will throw millions of dollars and all the political tricks they can to win this seat. And sometimes it’s worthwhile to take a step back and peek behind the curtain.