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Adams denied campaign matching funds again as board claims lawbreaking

Mayor Eric Adams was again denied public matching funds for his re-election bid on Wednesday, dashing his campaign’s hopes that a recent court ruling would clear the way for a multimillion-dollar payout. The city’s Campaign Finance Board said that its own investigation into the mayor’s fundraising showed “reason to believe the campaign has violated the law.”

The Board announced its decision at a meeting where it also awarded $1.7 million in matching funds to Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani, $1.9 million to Republican Curtis Sliwa and $237,000 to independent Jim Walden. Andrew Cuomo — who, like Adams, is running as an independent — was not awarded any money because he had not applied for matching funds in the weeks after his primary defeat.

Since December, the CFB has denied Adams more than $3 million he had expected to receive from the city program that matches small-dollar donations from city residents eight-to-one — putting him at a steep financial disadvantage compared to his rivals in the November general election. Adams’ strong private fundraising left him with a formidable $4.2 million warchest as of mid-July compared to $2.5 million for Mamdani and $1.2 million for Cuomo, but rival candidates will quickly eclipse him if he gets no public money.

Explaining its denial, CFB Chair Frederick Schaffer gave a more specific, and damning, rationale than in the past. The Board previously said it was withholding Adams’ money because he had failed to submit required documentation, and because his 2024 criminal indictment alleged that Adams had misused the matching-funds program by soliciting bogus “straw” donations. But after Adams sued over the denial, a federal judge ruled last month that the indictment could not be used as a reason, given that the case had been dismissed — however controversially — by President Donald Trump’s Justice Department.

But on Wednesday, Schaffer said the CFB’s own independent investigation, which is ongoing, also pointed to unspecified illegal conduct. (At the CFB’s last meeting in July, Schaffer said only that the board was investigating “whether there is reason to believe” the Adams campaign broke the law.)

www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-policy/eric-adams-denied-campaign-matching-funds-again-board-claims-lawbreaking

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Adams denied campaign matching funds again as board claims lawbreaking

“With respect to the failure to provide requested information, the board finds the campaign has provided incomplete and misleading information to the CFB and has impeded the CFB staff’s ability to complete its investigation,” Schaffer added Wednesday.

Adams campaign spokesman Todd Shapiro said in a statement: “We strongly disagree with the Campaign Finance Board’s decision and reject both the tone and substance of its statement.”

Adams campaign spokesman Todd Shapiro said in a statement: “We strongly disagree with the Campaign Finance Board’s decision and reject both the tone and substance of its statement.”

He said the campaign was “reviewing all legal options, including formal action to compel the release of the matching funds.”

“Mayor Adams has always run campaigns with the highest standards of integrity, transparency, and adherence to the law — spanning nearly 40 years of public service and political leadership,” Shapiro said. “At no point has this campaign attempted to mislead, withhold, or obstruct the work of the CFB. In fact, our team has cooperated fully, responding in good faith to every request and submitting the required documentation in a timely manner. The vague and unsubstantiated accusations now being leveled against the campaign — suggesting a ‘failure to provide requested information’ and vague references to an ongoing investigation — are deeply concerning and potentially damaging, particularly when no specific violations have been presented.”

Adams’ campaign had submitted more documentation to the CFB in the wake of last month’s court ruling, raising hopes for the mayor and his allies that he might be ruled eligible.

Nonetheless, the mayor raised an impressive $1.5 million from private donors alone in the latest round of fundraising from June 25 to July 11. That haul was fueled by dozens of donations from employees of real estate firms, including SL Green, Newmark, CBRE, JLL and Cushman & Wakefield. The mayor may also be boosted by any one of the half-dozen super PACs that have been created by opponents of Mamdani and aim to collectively raise millions of dollars to defeat the democratic socialist assemblyman — although most have not yet settled on an alternative candidate to back.

www.crainsnewyork.com/politics-policy/eric-adams-denied-campaign-matching-funds-again-board-claims-lawbreaking

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