Adam Levy drops over $350K on Putnam DA primary

Any way you look at it, Putnam County District Attorney Adam Levy hasn't been shy about cutting checks for his primary campaign.

Levy has spent $351,578 in his effort to best Republican primary challenger Robert Tendy and win a third term as the county's top prosecutor. That is more than double what he will earn in 2015.

By another count, Levy — who has not listed any campaign donations in required disclosures — has spent, from his own pocket, more than 10 times what Tendy has raised.

Tendy, the Putnam Valley town supervisor and a former assistant district attorney in Manhattan, is the first challenger Levy has faced since he took office eight years ago. The pair will face off in the primary on Thursday.

"I think he’s trying to buy his way into this election and I think it shows poor judgement on his part," Tendy said. "If he thinks he has to spend so much money as an incumbent district attorney … he must think he’s in pretty bad shape.”

Levy, who beat Tendy for the GOP endorsement at the Putnam County Republican convention in May, is defending his campaign financing as an asset.

"The people of Putnam County are aware that by self-funding DA Levy is beholden to no one — no special interest groups, politicians, or wealthy campaign contributors," his campaign said in a statement.

Much of Levy's spending has gone toward advertising, according to filings with the state Board of Elections.

He has paid $197,534.80 to Jamestown Associates, a political advertising firm based in Princeton, New Jersey, that touts its "understanding (of) the client's ... single-minded focus on winning." Some of that spending paid for consulting, campaign literature and professional services, but the majority — $111,297 — was spent on TV advertising. (The campaign spent another $2,376 on newspaper advertising.)

Debate: Levy, Tendy square off

Blog: Politics on the Hudson

The second biggest recipient of Levy's spending —  $52,500 in consulting fees — was Elias Kemp Consulting in Bronxville, followed by two payments totaling $22,000 to the Blauvelt-based McLaughlin Group, a public-opinion research outfit.

Exactly where Levy's money for his campaign is coming from is unclear. He is the son of retired Manhattan Family Court Judge Judith Sheindlin, now TV's "Judge Judy."

Tendy has raised just $35,028 from 69 contributors, many of whom reside outside Putnam County. He has spent just $18,391.61 of that, with the largest single expense — $3,000 — to Long Island-based 495 Consulting Group for consulting. In total, the consulting group received $8,000 in five payments from the Tendy campaign.

According to Board of Elections records, Levy has spent more than $100,000 more in this year's primary race than in either of his previous two campaigns combined. Part of that could be due to how combative the primary race has become, with Tendy frequently bringing up the Anthony Grigoroff retrial ordered by a state appeals court; Levy's involvement with the Alexandru Hossu case, which saw Levy's live-in personal trainer charged with child rape; and Levy's poor relationship with county Sheriff Don Smith.

Levy has fired his own broadsides, attacking Tendy over his involvement with his fiancee's DWI crash and accusations he forged signatures on his nominating petitions.

"Tendy’s criticism (of my campaign's finances) is nothing more than a pathetic attempt to divert the public’s attention from his campaign’s total lack of merit, his repeated violations of the Election Law, as well as his interference and obstruction of the investigation into his fiancee’s DWI crash," Levy's statement read.

Twitter: @coynereports