BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Erie County Clerk Mickey Kearns is under fire for using thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to pay for advertisements that feature himself, which is illegal in New York.
According to the New York State Public Officers Law:
“No elected government official or candidate for elected local, state or federal office shall knowingly appear in any advertisement or promotion, including public or community service announcements, published or broadcast through any print or electronic media (including television, radio, and internet) by any private or commercial entity or any other entity that publishes such advertisement for a fee, if the advertisement or promotion is paid for or produced in whole or in part with funds of the state, a political subdivision thereof or a public authority.”
"The public official cannot appear in these ads," explained Kevin Hardwick, Erie County Comptroller.
Hardwick sat down with 7 News Reporter Michael Schwartz to explain that a county service is legal to be advertised with taxpayer dollars, but once an elected official is incorporated, it becomes an illegal misuse of public funds.
Three weeks before Kearns was re-elected to the clerk's office, Hardwick said he heard Kearns on a radio ad involving veterans. He thought it was important, but it never said who paid for the ad.
"I suspected he's using public funds to try and get publicity for himself, just before the election," said Hardwick.
Hardwick said he waited until after the election to tell Kearns that these ads seemed morally wrong. Weeks later a legal staffer of Hardwick's found that what Kearns did was illegal.
"At time I knew it was wrong," said Hardwick. "I told him it was wrong, I didn’t know it was illegal."
Hardwick said other ads were found in newspapers, charity event pamphlets and more. All promoted Kearns' personal image or voice, which goes against the law.
"They seemed to peak before the primary, and just before the general election," said Hardwick.
Hardwick showed Schwartz a document that outlining that Kearns used around $100,000 of taxpayer dollars on a variety of illegal advertisements in 2022.
On January 5 Hardwick sent a memo to Kearns and other elected officials. It warned them abut the law. Hardwick said moving forward the county will not, and can't pay for any ads that use the likeness, picture or voice of an elected official.
Hardwick said he decided to "bite the bullet" on the previous illegal ads cost, and allow it to be a learning experience for all elected officials moving forward.
Unfortunately, Hardwick said he got an invoice just last week for $900 worth of radio programming that Kearns was involved in. That dates of those programs were all in January, after the memo was sent.
"This is no longer ignorance is bliss," said Hardwick.
Kearns has taken part in a program called "Catching Up With The Clerk" on WUFO. Hardwick said using taxpayer dollars to pay for that is illegal, because it features Kearns himself.
On Thursday morning Schwartz called, texted and left voicemails for the Erie County Deputy Clerk, who is usually very responsive to media inquires involving Kearns. Schwartz even went to the clerk's office on Thursday while Kearns was there to leave a message, but he didn't get a reply until about 24 hours later saying the clerk was not available to speak on Friday.
"This will be magnified through a political lense, but it doesn’t change the fact that what happened was illegal," said Hardwick.
Erie County Democratic Party Chair Jeremy Zellner said it should now be investigated by the New York State Attorney General's Office.
“This is a county clerk who has proudly proclaimed himself above the law in the past, and now we see where that reckless and irresponsible approach to his duties has led,” said Zellner. “At least 100,000 tax dollars spent on self-promotion during an election year, and now the possibility of literally millions in fines.
“It’s been clear for years that Mickey Kearns considers his office just another political platform, especially when he openly refused to enforce laws he didn’t agree with, such as issuing drivers licenses to immigrants," said Zellner. "During last year’s campaign we raised questions about nepotism in the clerk’s office and heard rumblings about PSA spending as a means of blatantly using incumbency as a political weapon.
“This is a new low, as is Kearns’ attempt to blame virtually every other official in county government for his own actions," said Zellner. "He doesn’t deny it happened, but won’t take responsibility for it. If he’s as concerned about serving the people and protecting their tax dollars as he claims, he will do it immediately,” said Zellner.
