It is common for former officeholders to maintain campaign accounts after they’ve stepped down,and they are allowed to spend money for political, but not personal, purposes
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Senate President Stephen Sweeney spent more than $80,000 after he stepped down as Gloucester County freeholder at the end of 2010. TRENTON — Senate President Stephen Sweeney stepped down as Gloucester County freeholder director at the end of last year, but his campaign bank account had plenty of life left.
For months after leaving office, the Democrat continued to spend money from the account, including more than $12,000 for political dinners at restaurants ranging from Charlie Brown’s to Bobby Flay’s Steak at The Borgata in Atlantic City, according to campaign finance reports.
Sweeney left office on Dec. 31, 2010. Since then, he has spent more than $80,000 from the account, including donations to political candidates and charities, the reports show.
The expenditures, which were reported Friday by The Philadelphia Inquirer, include $765 for cigars at Greentree Tobacco in Sewell, $1,117.95 for a dinner at the Prime Rib in Washington. The last dinner listed on the campaign account was for $113.35 at Filomena’s in Deptford.
"I have a very strict policy of not accepting gifts from anyone, big or small," Sweeney said in a statement. "Therefore, in order to avoid the appearance of any impropriety, I insist on paying for meals and other expenses that are incurred in the course of political business. And because these are politically related activities, it would be inappropriate to use personal funds."
Sweeney maintains a separate account for his state Senate campaigns.
Sweeney, who started this year with more than $87,000 in his freeholder campaign account, has whittled that amount to $4,786.
A majority of the money Sweeney spent went to charities and political candidates. The biggest single recipient was the Gloucester County Democratic Executive Committee, to which he donated $37,000.
He also contributed $5,000 to the state Democratic Party and $2,500 to the Newark’s North Ward Democratic Committee, as well as $1,500 to the Sandra and Glenn Cunningham Foundation in Jersey City, which was set up by state Sen. Sandra Cunningham (D-Jersey City).
Sweeney also spent thousands of dollars on telephone bills, polling and research for other campaigns.
Less than three weeks before leaving office, Sweeney spent $14,830 on watches, which he told the Philadelphia Inquirer were gifts.
Jeffrey Brindle, executive director of the state Election Law Enforcement Commission, said it is common for former officeholders to maintain campaign accounts after they’ve stepped down, adding that they are allowed to spend money for political, but not personal, purposes, he said.
"If it’s going out to dinner with a friend and your wife or whatever, it’s a different thing," Brindle said.
