Spin Cycle

Queens City Council candidate Marlene Tapper was the target of the heaviest fine meted out last week by the city’s Campaign Finance Board as it started to close the books on the 2005 elections.
Tapper, who lost to incumbent Hiram Monserrate in the Democratic primary in Jackson Heights, was fined $12,100 for having an over-the limit contribution, failing to file a number of reports on time, and other violations.
The second largest fine was against John Ruiz, a loser in a six-person race in a Harlem district. He was fined $9,780 for a variety of infractions, including the improper use of a money from a state political committee under his control.
In all, the board assessed fines against 13 City Council campaigns, but perhaps the most unusual was against Democratic Councilwoman Gale Brewer, who was re-elected in an Upper West Side district noted for its ultra-liberal voters.
Brewer, who has never met a good-government proposal she didn’t like, was hit with a mid-sized fine of $1,363 for four separate violations, including two late filings of financial reports.

Bill Murphy