Lynn custodians come clean on flyer fund

LYNN – After two months of legal back and forth with the city, the AFSCME Local 1736 custodians union has filed a report with the office of campaign and political finance, detailing expenditures leading up to the November municipal election.According to the document, dated Dec. 20, the “Lynn School Employees Voter Empowerment Committee” spent a total of $7,045.83 on two advertisements in The Daily Item and a mock-ballot mailer supporting candidates in the election.The first payment of $1,019 was made to the Item on Sept. 14, and a second, larger payment was made Oct. 25 in the amount of $2,910. The largest sum went toward the mailers – a payment that totaled $3,116.31 after printing and postage. Simard Printing in Woburn is listed as handling both printing and postage of the political mailer.The union also lists the 10 candidates that it supported in the report, six of whom were elected to either the City Council or School Committee. First-time School Committee candidates Maria Carrasco and Vincent Spirito vocally supported the school custodians union in its fight against a recent move of their department to City Hall, as did Donna Coppola, who was the top vote getter on the School Committee.The finance report had been a lightning rod of controversy in the weeks following the election, as union officials insisted they did not need to report their expenses because of a clause in campaign finance laws called the 10/15 rule. That rule states groups who do not engage political fundraising do not have to file a report if they spend under 10 percent of their gross revenue or $15,000.After exchanging letters with the election office and meeting with legal counsel, it was determined that the union did not need to file a traditional campaign finance report, but was responsible for a separate report, titled CPF 18A, because it had supported candidates during the election.With the filing complete, all loose ends from the election are effectively tied, and the union will not face fines from the State Office of Campaign and Political Finance.”We were absolutely correct on the 10/15 rule, but with that came this other form,” said Union President Mark Rafftery. “It wasn’t a big deal to me because we knew that we were doing the right thing. We just didn’t fill out that particular form.”