WHITE PLAINS, NY (June 19, 2023) —Yadira Ramos-Herbert filed a Fair Campaign Practices Complaint earlier today against Westchester County Legislator Damon Maher.
In her complaint to the Westchester County Fair Campaign Practices Committee Ramos-Herbert claims Maher and his campaign team were “aware of the apparent falsehood of their claims, yet nonetheless proceeded to intentionally mislead voters and attack Ms. Ramos-Hebert’s character.”
Yadira Ramos-Herbert claims Westchester County Legislator Damon Maher violated two FCPC principles: (1) campaign material or advertisement that misstates, misrepresents or distorts material fact or any communication that misleads the public; (2) false or misleading attacks upon the character of an opponent, nor in invasions of privacy unrelated to fitness for office.
At issue is a campaign mailer sent by Maher about 10 days ago after Yadira Ramos-Herbert disclosed a $60,000 direct transfer from the Westchester County Democratic Committee but before the WCDC file disclosed a $100,000 in campaign contributions to the WCDC from Louis Cappelli and his business associates.
The first allegation in the complaint centers on the backside of the mailer: “Dark money, superPACs, corporate influence peddling and backroom deals are all things we expect out of politicians in Washington. But we don’t expect this sort of corruption in our backyard. But that’s exactly what is happening. Mayoral candidate Yadira Ramos-Herbert got caught red-handed taking $60,000 in untraceable money to fund her campaign. Even worse, the committee that funneled the money to her has broken campaign finance laws.”
The second allegation in the complaint centers on the frontside of the mailer: “a sensationalist headline from a June 5th, 2023 article in the online blog, the Yonkers Times reads, ‘Who “Laundered” $60,000 to get to New Rochelle mayoral candidate Yadira Ramos-Herbert’s campaign?’, referencing a direct quote of Maher.
Ramos-Herbert claims the allegations in the mailer and in the press “contain language that is both materially false and intentionally misleading to voters” and “impune the character of Ms. Ramos-Herbert in a manner unbecoming of one seeking public office.”
Ramos-Herbert says it is false and deliberately misleading to say superPACs, independent expenditure committees not limited by legal constraints on fundraising, supported Ms. Ramos-Herbert’s campaign.
Ramos-Herbert says it is a blatant misrepresentation of fact and constitutes a false and misleading attack on her character for Maher to use the term “money laundering” in the Yonkers Times article and in his campaign materials
She says the mailer refers to “untraceable” campaign funds which is false because at the date of the campaign’s transmission of the materials, the source of funding had been publicly disclosed by the Westchester County Democratic Committee for over a week.
