I have been working on a post regarding the recent primary between Saratoga Springs Mayor Ron Kim and Democratic challenger Chris Mathiesen. My work has been hampered by the failure yet again of Ron Kim to comply with New York State’s campaign spending reporting requirements.
Under the New York State Board of Elections statute, the recent candidates in the June 28,2023, primaries were required to report their final contributions and expenditures by July 17, 2023.
While Chris Mathiesen filed as required. There was no report available for Mayor Ron Kim’s campaign organization.
In 2021, Kim failed to meet the November 29, 2021, deadline for filing. I wrote about this at the time. Kim told the Times Union that he had filed, but technical problems at the state board of elections were the reason it was not available. I contacted the NYSBOE, and they told me there were no problems with their website. They told me that if he had filed, the information would be on the site.
Saratoga Springs Politics 
It is really to bad the residents tolerate the unprofessional behavior of Ron Kim. His lack of filings just is another chapter of his disrespect and disregard to his obligations as an elected official. It will catch up sooner or later.
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I’m shocked, shocked to learn that Ron Kim doesn’t tell the truth. He’s going to give politics a bad name.
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Ron Kim’s July 2023 filing with the BOE was completed on July 18 at 4:29 PM, one day late. I guess he is a little less paranoid about meeting those deadlines than I am.
During 2023, Ron Kim’s donations totalled $23, 815 while the campaign expenses were $31,524.19. He still has over $2,000 left in his campaign treasury.
A bigger issue for me was to see the money paid to Joanne Yepsen’s consulting firm both in 2022 and 2023. Joanne Yepsen took the lead on February 7, 2023 when the Democratic Committee Nominating interviewed me as I asked for their endorsement for the position of Mayor. Joanne Yepsen had already been taking money from the Ron Kim campaign well before that interview. Joanne Yepsen continues to demonstrate either ignorance of or callous disregard for the concept of ‘conflict of interest’.
Chris Mathiesen
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Rigged system.
Time to change to independent until either party gets their acts together. (not holding my breath)
No Labels Party?
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The fact that Yepsen would have no problem with lack of ethics, in this case, should come as no surprise as this is the same who was found unethical twice by her own ethics board while in office. She then has the Mctygues continue to deny what has been proven via shared e-mails. That was only the unethical actions that were seen or determined. That Kim has chosen to hire her and connect himself to her – even before his first election simply shows his own “callous disregard for the concept of ‘conflict of interest” and ethics. Generally, if there are one or two cases of proven irregularities there are more that have not been uncovered. Neither he nor Yepsen should be allowed anywhere near campaigns or elected positions.
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Here’s the Big Picture:
As long as the disclosure reports are filed as required (including “no activity” reports), Kim’s campaign committee’s assists and liabilities carry over from year to year. So, I added up all the figures from the beginning, i.e. 2021 thru July 17, 2023.
Kim’s total monetary contributions to date, including his own of $10,000 cash (not a loan) on 6/27/2023, = $71,708.92
His total expenditures to date = ($88,681.28)
On a cash basis, that puts him underwater to the tune of ($16,972.36).
However, he made 8 personal loans to the committee that totaled $20,200.
Of those loans, there was a loan of $4,700 made on 10/14/2021 for which he reimbursed himself $3,000 in 2022, with $1,700 still outstanding. That leaves a total loan balance of $17,200, just enough to cover his expenses.
On that basis, I estimate the committee only has $227.64 on hand.
Breaking it down by year:
2021 campaign contributions = $39,124.92 (cash, excluding loans)
2021 campaign expenditures = $52,585.70 (the difference was covered by Kim’s loans to himself)
2023 campaign contributions = $32,584.00 (thru July 17, 2023)
2023 campaign expenditures = $36,095.58 (thru July 17, 2023)
Feel free to download his reports, do your own math, and draw your own conclusions. I’m open to corrections. FYI, Kim’s committee ID is 186027.
Also, as I interpret the July Periodic Disclosure, it was submitted on July 17th, but not posted on the BOE website until the next afternoon. As a former campaign manager, in my experience these reports are sometimes reviewed by a BOE auditor prior to publication, which may or may not be the case here. Keep in mind that there were hundreds, if not thousands of these reports from all over the state that were due that day. Even if you’re not an active candidate or running for office this year, as long as your campaign committee is active, you still have to file a report every January and July.
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One correction — John and Dr. M are right. Kim did file late, specifically on July 18th at 4:29 PM. I misunderstood the column that was headed “Filing Date,” which was actually the deadline, not the date of submission. This was confirmed by phone calls to the Board of Elections.
Whether filing 16+ hours after the deadline is worth getting excited about is up to the reader. However, in looking at Kim’s earlier filings, his July, 2022, Periodic Disclosure Report wasn’t filed until January, 2023, 6 months late, which is much more serious. Several of his “No Activity” reports were also filed weeks late.
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Where does a candidate, who filed for bankruptcy, get $10,000 cash….of “his own” money??
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Oops… He’s done it again!
Looks like the Kimster hasn’t filed his 27-day post election finance report, which was due yesterday, December 4th.
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