Democrats were misleading in reporting how much money they have spent on the election for Onondaga County’s chief accountant and auditor, a republican official said Wednesday.
“They intentionally didn’t spend money until after the last public disclosure form,” said Deputy Comptroller Tom Squires, a republican.
Every candidate who runs in an election must inform the public how much money is being spent on his campaign 15 days before an election, said Robert Antonacci, a democrat who is challenging current comptroller Donald Colon. They are also required to report a dollar figure after the election.
Antonacci, a local lawyer and certified public accountant, has spent more than $34,000, including $5,000 from the Democratic Committee, said Robert Romeo, county Democratic Committee chairman.
The dollar figure the democrats report after the election will be significantly larger than the current figure, Squires said.
“That’s false,” said Antonacci, a first-time candidate.
Meanwhile, Colon, a republican, has spent more than $100,000, including $30,000 from the Republican Committee and $50,000 of his own money, in an effort to keep his position, said Squires.
The six-figure amount is unusually high for a comptroller race because the comptroller makes just $70,000 a year, Antonacci said.
“We must be doing something right if he’s spending all of that money,” Antonacci said. “We’re very excited about the election. We just have to keep doing what we’ve been doing.”
Most of the Colon’s campaign money has been spent on television advertising.
“They’re trying to get (Colon) on TV as much as possible,” Antonacci said.
The exuberant amount of money spent on the election is the result of the republicans wanting to keep control over Onondaga County, Romeo said.
“They don’t want an independent looking at their books,” Romeo said. “(Colon) is just a rubberstamp for the republican government.”
Squires dismissed Romeo’s claim.
“I don’t even know what to say to that,” Squires said. “We just want to give good government to the taxpayers.”
With County Executive Nick Pirro running unopposed, the county’s comptroller race has been pushed to the forefront of local politics, Antonacci said.
“It’s the top position open in the county,” Romeo said.