ALBANY—Bill Owens, too, has asked for an extension in filing his required personal financial disclosure as part of the race to replace John McHugh in Congress.
"There is a significant amount of information required to fully comply with the filing, and the campaign is in the process of compiling that information," said Jon Boughtin, Owens' new spokesman. "In the meantime, we have filed for an extension and will complete the necessary paperwork as soon as possible."
There have been lots of stories based on Assemblywoman Dede Scozzafava's federal campaign disclosure documents, exploring her connections to a troubled company run by her brother. Scozzafava is the Republican candidate for the seat.
Neither Bill Owens, the designee of the Democratic Party, nor Doug Hoffman, the designee of the Conservative Party, have filed a required disclosure document, and Hoffman asked for an extension last week. Candidates must file the form–which lists employers, income, and asset holdings–within 30 days of raising or spending $5,000. Hoffman's has been granted, and could put his form due past Election Day, when everyone expects the special election to take place.
The National Republican Campaign Committee attacked their delinquency.
"Bill Owens and Doug Hoffman may be trying to position themselves as political opposites, but they're both operating from the same dishonest playbook," said Paul Lindsay, an NRCC spokesman. "Not only are they both engaging in negative and nasty campaigns against Dede Scozzafava, they have failed to disclose the most basic personal finance information that is required by law. Instead of taking shots at Dede for being open and honest about her investment in upstate New York businesses, they should start explaining to voters what they are trying to hide."
Rob Ryan, Hoffman's spokesman, did not reply to several requests for comment.
UPDATE: Rob Ryan called to say that "Dede Scozzafava is a career politician who doesn't run a business or have clients. It's obvious the NRCC is trying to distract voters from her liberal record. That's cynical and that's sad."
"
