(Image Source: The Gothamist)

BY JENNIFER LONG

After a close call, Santa’s in his sleigh and back on the job. It’s all thanks to a check from a political candidate who’s now in office. Some are wondering if his generosity helped him out in the polls. NBC explains.

“All it took was a political candidate who thought writing Santa a six hundred and sixty dollar check just days before the election was an opportunity too good to pass up. 'This isn’t political it’s personal. Politics ends at the north pole.'”

So World War II veteran David McKell had been playing Santa for nearly ten years at the St. James Country Store. This year the budget office said it just couldn’t afford to pay his salary. Suffolk County Executive Steve Levey explains in an interview...

“How do you justify that expenditure when a health center is losing money?... Let either the private sector come forward with a donation, or, better yet, let’s tap the volunteers in the community.”
 
That’s when a candidate for County Executive, Steve Bellone, stepped in and offered to pay out of his pocket to keep Santa. Now, some are wondering if his gift was all an act to get Bellone some good PR. He won -- and his opponent points to the quote “political scam”...

Bellone’s Republican opponent, Angie Carpenter, told WCBS...

“They create this scam of Santagate, you know that Santa is being fired and he rides in on a horse as the white knight and saves the day... This is not appropriate.”

Republican Candidate Angie Carpenter noted a memo from Bellone’s wife that asks the budget director if it was OK to renew Santa’s budget. Ms. Carpenter says this was all a ploy to get Santa fired so her husband could step in and save Christmas. Bellone argues back on News12.

“The conspiracy theory that my wife somehow worked with Steve Levey to fire Santa Clause so it would help my campaign, I think speaks for itself.”
 
Even though Santa put Bellone on the “nice list” Levey says his office will be investigating whether or not the check breached any rules regarding gift-giving to county agencies.