By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — The attorney general candidates are duking it out, desperately trying to gain the final edge in what has shaped up to be the closest state-wide election race.
Republican candidate Dan Donovan called a last-minute press conference Wednesday to try to push a report that found his Democratic challenger, state Sen. Eric Schneiderman, benefited from a tax loophole that is, by all accounts, perfectly legal.
Schneiderman deducted tens of thousands of dollars last year in work expenses for days when the senate was not in session, according to NY1. He included write offs for 200 additional days, which amounted to 36 percent of his pre-tax salary, NY1 reported.
Donovan spokeswoman Virginia Lam said that, while legal, the practice "doesn't seem fair when New Yorkers are taxed to death already."
"While some of his colleagues use member items to enrich themselves, and others rig hundred million dollar state contracts for favored friends, State Senator Eric Schneiderman uses the tax code to 'capitalize' his public office to enrich himself and hide his income from his own tax increases," she said in a statement.
But the Schneiderman campaign denies the candidate did anything wrong and accused the Donovan camp of latching on to any dirt it can find, no matter how small.
"Eric’s integrity as a leading reformer is why he has been endorsed by the good government group Citizens Union and the New York Times, among many other champions for ethics and transparency," said Schneiderman spokesman James Freedland.
Schneiderman saved about $900 in taxes, according to the campaign. It now intends to make a donation in the same amount to a domestic violence counseling provider "to avoid any misunderstanding," Freedland said.
Meanwhile, Schneiderman is pushing hard on his own charges, accusing the Donovan's campaign of a string of financial improprieties, including accepting campaign donations that exceeded allotted caps and failing to report certain contributions.
"Dan Donovan is under fire today for breaking the law and lining his coffers with an illegal corporate contribution, and now required to immediately return $5,000 in illegal corporate contributions," Freedland said.
The $5,000 refers to an alleged $10,000 contribution to Donovan from a company called Manhattan Luxury Automobiles, Inc.
According to New York State campaign law, corporations may not contribute more than $5,000 per year to a campaign.
"This marks the height of hypocrisy: Dan Donovan is running to be the state’s top law enforcement official, yet he has shown a pattern of ignoring the law himself," Freedland said.
Lam said the Donovan campaign will return any contributions it receives over the legal limit, and that it has done so already.
She also dismissed the charges.
"It’s clear that Team Schneiderman is grasping at straws," Lam said. "The critical question is whether or not State Senator Schneiderman intends to return the $76,000 in tainted campaign contributions from Senators Smith, Adams and Sampson," she said.
Donovan, a Staten Island district attorney, remains behind in recent polls and has been trailing in fundraising returns, despite his endorsements by power brokers and money-raisers like Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Ed Koch.
Schneiderman was seven points ahead in the latest Siena Poll released last week.
