Rep. John Sweeney (R-NY) hosts [1] a luxurious getaway every year for members of Congress, staffers, and lobbyists in Lake Placid underwritten by New York's Olympic Regional Development Authority. And though ORDA is meant to have authority over the guest list, it appears Sweeney himself provided them with a number of names - names which yielded $31,100 [2] in campaign contributions to Sweeney.

In response to what appears to be a violation of the House Standards for Official Conduct in pursuit of campaign cash, Citizen Action of New York is asking Sweeney to return the $31,100 in question, and to sign our Voters First Pledge. [2]

In a letter to Sweeney, Citizen Action of New York’s Executive Director Richard Kirsch writes: “It now appears that some of the names on the guest list you supplied are campaign contributors to your campaign for reelection. This is a clear violation of the public trust, an erasing of the line between the public’s business and your personal political interest. We believe a good start in restoring public trust would be to return the $31,100 in campaign contributions from those who attended the Winter Challenge. [...] We are asking Congressman Sweeney to put voters before campaign contributors and lobbyists by signing the Voters First pledge [....] The Voters First pledge commits candidates to support campaign finance and lobbying reforms.”

Sweeney, along with every 2006 congressional candidate, received the pledge by mail several weeks ago.  We'll be awaiting his signature.