By Teresa Mulvaney
ALBANY — Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie says the Assembly Democrats’ campaign committee spends money at ballgames because ballgames raise money. A New York Focus investigation published last week asks how much of that spending, more than $1 million since 2015, was really fundraising, and it puts a Buffalo company near the center of the story.
New York Focus reported that since Mr. Heastie became speaker and honorary chair of the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee, known as DACC, the committee has paid more than $1 million to teams, stadiums and sports-related companies. The list includes the Yankees, the Mets, Madison Square Garden, Barclays Center, Long Island’s UBS Arena and the Buffalo Sabres.
The outlet also reported that Delaware North, the hospitality and gaming company headquartered on Delaware Avenue in Buffalo, donated luxury suite packages at Boston Celtics games that Mr. Heastie attended in 2024, 2025 and 2026, worth nearly $37,000 in all. The most recent, in March, was valued at $13,800.
The speaker’s answer
Mr. Heastie and DACC did not respond to New York Focus before publication, the outlet said. After the story ran, the speaker answered in a social media post, WKBW reported. “It’s called fundraising stupid,” Mr. Heastie wrote. “We just spent along with candidates $16 million dollars on this election cycle. Sports games are great ways to fundraise.”
More than half of DACC’s sports-related spending since 2015 was labeled as fundraising in campaign filings, New York Focus found. Some entries carried no explanation, and more than $154,000 was listed as office expenses. All of the purchases came from the committee’s housekeeping account, which can take unlimited donations for party operations but cannot be used to support specific candidates.
The Buffalo company and the tax break
Delaware North owns TD Garden, where the Celtics play. In the weeks after the March game, New York Focus reported, lobbying records show Mr. Heastie met with Delaware North’s in-house lobbyist and with outside lobbyists for the company about Finger Lakes Gaming & Racetrack, its slot parlor and track near Rochester, and the tax rate slot parlors pay the state.
The state budget approved in late May gave slot parlors a larger commission, letting them keep more of their revenue. By New York Focus’s analysis, the change could be worth more than $18 million to the Finger Lakes facility by the time it expires in mid-2029. The outlet noted that other gaming companies, including MGM Resorts, Genting and Saratoga Casino Holdings, also lobbied on the rate, and that some facilities not owned by Delaware North may benefit more. Delaware North was the only one whose lobbyists reported meeting Mr. Heastie personally, the outlet reported.
Delaware North said it did nothing improper. “Delaware North was asked to donate our suite,” company spokesperson Glen White said, “so it could be used to host political fundraising events.” He added: “Our government affairs team and lobbyists always operate within applicable lobbying and campaign finance laws.” Mr. White said the company did not discuss political matters with Mr. Heastie or his staff at the games, according to New York Focus, and did not say who asked for the suite.
What the law allows, and what critics say
State law bars using campaign money for personal benefit and specifically prohibits using it to attend a sporting event unless the event is connected to a campaign, a party role or official duties, New York Focus reported. Campaign donations such as donated suites are not treated as gifts under state ethics rules.
David Grandeau, a lawyer who was once New York’s top lobbying regulator, was blunt. “It looks corrupt,” he told the outlet. “At best, it’s just business as usual. At worst, it’s a bribe.”
Richard Briffault, a Columbia Law School professor who chaired New York City’s Conflicts of Interest Board, said the question turns on purpose. If the money “is being used primarily for personal benefit, then it’s a misuse of funds and probably illegal,” he said. “A lot’s just going to turn on how much of this is fundraising and how much of this is not.”
Sam Mellins, the New York Focus reporter, told WKBW he could not say for certain. “Was that the primary purpose of the events, or was it primarily for the personal benefit of the politicians and the political figures involved? I don’t feel 100% confident about that,” he said.
The numbers behind it
DACC averaged less than $5,000 a year in sports spending in the decade before Mr. Heastie became speaker, and nearly $90,000 a year since, according to New York Focus. Its Senate counterpart, the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee, raised nearly as much over the past decade but spent less than a tenth as much on sporting events. WKBW reported that New York Focus found no similar sports spending by the committees tied to Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt of North Tonawanda or Assembly Minority Leader Ed Ra.
New York Focus also reported a Western New York outing that did not involve campaign funds: Mr. Heastie attended a 2023 Bills home game against the Dallas Cowboys in the state-owned box at the stadium in Orchard Park, where the Bills set ticket prices for public officials at $177. He gave $370 to charity, the outlet reported.
What happens next
No agency has announced a review, and New York Focus did not allege that any law was broken. Mr. Mellins told WKBW he was not aware of much appetite among lawmakers to change the system. Ethics groups have long pushed for limits on donations to housekeeping accounts; WKBW noted that at least 23 states bar corporate contributions to state campaigns altogether.
The Chronicle has asked Mr. Heastie’s office, DACC and Delaware North for comment and will update this story with any response.
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