Albany Times Union: “Esposito did not pay anyone on her campaign in the three months after launching it last year.”
A new report in the Albany Times Union exposes MAGA extremist Alison Esposito for not paying her campaign staff, including a manager and communications director, for more than three months into her bid for New York’s 18th Congressional District.
According to the Times Union, it remains unclear whether Esposito’s staff is currently being paid. Additionally, the report highlights how Esposito was recently criticized for not knowing local elected officials’ names and that she changed her voting registration to the Hudson Valley district only one week before launching her campaign.
DCCC Spokesperson Ellie Dougherty:
“If Alison Esposito can’t even take care of her own staff, she clearly is not cut out for representing Hudson Valley families.”
But according to her most recently available campaign finance records, Esposito did not pay anyone on her campaign in the three months after launching it last year. From October through December, she does not have any payroll entries in the itemized disbursements she filed with the Federal Election Commission, where candidates must report how they spend campaign funds.
Ben Weiner, Esposito’s campaign manager, accepted his position in October, according to a post on his LinkedIn page, and fielded press inquiries from the Times Union that month. Esposito’s campaign also has a communications director, Clay Sutton.
It is not known if Esposito’s staff is being paid now. Her campaign did not respond to multiple requests for comment. When reached by phone this week, Esposito asked a Times Union reporter to send her communications team another inquiry and then hung up. Her team did not respond to additional inquiries.
“Whether or not staff is paid directly from a campaign or through a third party, candidates have an obligation to file payroll disbursements in accordance with existing federal laws,” Susan Lerner, Common Cause New York’s executive director, said. “Voters expect and deserve transparency from the individuals competing to represent them.”
For the fourth quarter of 2023, Ryan listed more than $288,000 in disbursements, nearly half of which went toward payroll, payroll taxes and fees, and health care stipends. By comparison, Esposito listed $52,000, with no payroll entries.
Esposito grew up in Highland Mills. In 2000, she registered to vote in New York City. In 2023, one week before announcing her campaign against Ryan, she changed her voting registration to Goshen, also in Orange County.
In March, she faced criticism from Democrats for not knowing the name of a local official after she tweeted photos from the Mid-Hudson St. Patrick’s Day Parade and said she marched with the mayor of Goshen, Ind. — Gina Leichty — instead of Goshen, N.Y. Mayor Molly O’Donnell.
