After the 2002 primary election, Jay paid Sal Palmisano a $1500 "consulting" fee, right around the same time his Pal Sal endorsed him for the runoff in that race. Why didn't anyone make a fuss about this at the time, you may ask? Because the campaign finance report that showed Jay's payment to Sal wasn't filed until December 5, 2002, well after the March runoff election dust had settled.

Considering the anti-Morial climate then as now, a fuss may certainly have been raised about some of Batt's other "endorsement payments", if anyone had known about them at the time. Jay's 10-day campaign report from the 2002 election, also belatedly dated 12-5-02, shows a $15,000 payment to Marc Morial's political organization LIFE.

Ironically, Batt made a campaign issue out of accusing Scott Shea of both LIFE and Morial's support!

Batt also made payments of $15,000 to BOLD (the Black Organization for Leadership Development), $6,000 to Bill Jefferson’s Progressive Democrats, $6500 to the Treme Improvement Political Society, and $4000 to the Regular Democratic Organization.

So the next time you read about Jay Batt's "endorsements", consider their price tags. But don't hold your breath: we probably won't know what they really cost him until maybe... December?

2002 Campaign Report

2002 Election 10 Day Report