Aguiar refunds another $4,500 in excess campaign contributions

Riverhead Supervisor Yvette Aguiar has refunded another $4,500 in excess campaign contributions according to an amended disclosure report filed Monday. This comes after the campaign refunded $15,000 on Oct. 28 from contributors who gave over the legal limit.

During her run for town supervisor this fall, Aguiar, who raised more than $117,000 according to her disclosure reports, accepted more than $21,000 in campaign contributions that exceeded the legal limit for her campaign, as reported by RiverheadLOCAL on Oct. 28. At that time, more than a dozen contributors had given her campaign committee, Taxpayers For Aguiar, more than the $1,185 limit any single contributor was allowed to donate. The limit is set by a formula in New York State Election Law.

An amended disclosure report filed Monday afternoon shows additional refunds to six donors who gave over the election limit during the campaign cycle, which ran from the day after Election Day in 2019 to Election Day 2021.  The amended disclosure report states the refunds were made by check on Nov. 25. The campaign had previously made partial refunds to some of those donors, but their total contributions still remained over Aguiar’s legal limit. 

The amended 27-day Post-General (election) disclosure report, filed Monday, shows refunds to Apple Honda, City Cider House (Riverhead Cider House), Parkland Golf Inc., Thomas Witkop Sr., Stark Homes Inc and the International Union of Operating Engineers to bring their total contributions during the campaign cycle within the $1,185 limit.

The campaign still holds $2,745 over the election limit from three contributors: $1,130 from Baiting Hollow Farm Vineyards, $1,000 from Long Island Builders PAC, and $615 from East End Commercial Real Estate/Landvalue. 

When the original 27-day post-general disclosure report was filed on Nov. 29 — the deadline for that report — Aguiar’s campaign committee still retained more than $6,000 in excess contributions from nine donors — even after the $15,000 in refunds reported in that disclosure. 

Monday’s amended report also shows refunds of $191 to Devitt Spellman Barret LLP and $241 to Keith Archer of Harris, Bloom and Archer LLP. 6

The campaign also refunded $691 to Vineyard 71, which contributed $1,800 during the 2019 campaign cycle, when Aguiar made her first run for supervisor. 

Aguiar was required by law to refund excess contributions before Election Day to avoid potential fines and penalties. A candidate and a campaign committee treasurer face a civil penalty equal to the excess contribution amount plus a fine of $10,000 for violating the election limit established by statute, according to New York State Election Law. They would also be required to refund the excess amount of contributions.

It is unclear whether Aguiar’s failure to refund excess contributions before Election Day will will be penalized. The State Board of Elections enforcement counsel, which is responsible for enforcing campaign finance laws, declined to say in an email whether Aguiar’s campaign committee was under any investigation or audit.

In a Nov. 30 interview about the $15,000 in refunds made Oct. 28, Aguiar’s campaign treasurer Paul Carr said of the remaining excess contributions: “If anything has to be refunded, it will be refunded. If anything has to be done, it will be done. But I already did what I was mandated by the state.”

“If you take a look, I’ve been refunding it all along,” he added. “I just put it in yesterday… I’m still looking at some stuff. Okay? I review it. I always review it. If I find something that’s a discrepancy I will amend the report.”