New York Metropolis’s Marketing campaign Finance Board on Tuesday once more denied Mayor Adams public matching funds for his reelection effort — however the panel switched up the rationale for depriving him of the crucial money after a key judicial ruling.
Since December 2024, the board has withheld greater than $3 million in matching funds for Adams’ marketing campaign, largely resulting from his federal indictment, which accused him of taking bribes and unlawful marketing campaign contributions from Turkish authorities operatives in change for political favors.
The indictment was dismissed in April on the behest of President Trump’s Division of Justice in a extremely controversial deal that many consider has left Adams compromised. Regardless of the dismissal, the CFB has since April at a number of board conferences continued to quote the corruption case as grounds for denying Adams matching funds, arguing it offers “reason to believe” he broke metropolis marketing campaign finance legal guidelines.
Nevertheless, final week, a Brooklyn Federal Court docket choose dominated in response to a lawsuit from Adams’ marketing campaign that the board couldn’t withhold matching funds from Adams as a result of indictment, on condition that it has been dropped.
The choose did rule, although, that the board may deny Adams matching funds due to his marketing campaign’s long-running failure to reply to its requests for varied documentation, together with information associated to donors talked about in his indictment.
In a gathering Tuesday morning, Frederick Schaffer, CFB’s chairman, acknowledged the choose “called into question” its reasoning on the corruption case. Nonetheless, he mentioned the board is continuous to disclaim Adams matching funds due to the excellent doc requests, delivering a blow to the mayor as he faces a tough path to reelection, working as an unbiased in November’s basic election.
“Because the documents and information requested from the Adams campaign are still outstanding and have been outstanding since last November, the board determines today that Mayor Adams’ campaign has failed to demonstrate to eligibility for public funds payments at this time,” Schaffer mentioned.
New York Mayor Eric Adams speaks throughout a marketing campaign launch rally at Metropolis Corridor, Thursday, June. 26, 2025, in New York. (AP Photograph/Yuki Iwamura)
Schaffer additionally mentioned the board’s unbiased investigation into Adams and his marketing campaign stays “ongoing.” As a part of that probe, the board lately requested a slew of information associated to people and fundraising occasions referenced in his indictment.
Frank Carone, Adams’ reelection marketing campaign chairman, mentioned he’s hopeful the mayor will get matching funds on the board’s subsequent assembly. He additionally thanked the Brooklyn Federal Court docket choose for ruling that the “reason to believe” commonplace CFB beforehand cited in denying Adams funds was “arbitrary and unconstitutional.”
“Without that arbitrary standard, all that we must do is comply with what remains from CFB’s document request … Therefore, we are confident now that Mayor Adams will receive matching funds,” Carone mentioned in a press release.
Additionally at Tuesday’s assembly, the board accredited about $1 million in new matching funds for Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic nominee for mayor who’s main within the polls. It additionally awarded about $135,000 in new matching funds for Jim Walden, a lawyer mounting a longshot unbiased bid for mayor.
Ex-Gov.Andrew Cuomo, who’s additionally working as an unbiased in November’s mayoral race, didn’t apply for Tuesday’s matching funds payout, in accordance with his spokesman Wealthy Azzopardi. In mild of his Monday announcement that he’ll keep within the November race, the ex-governor plans to use for funds at subsequent month’s board assembly, Azzopardi added.
Republican mayoral nominee Curtis Sliwa didn’t apply for Tuesday’s payout, both, however his spokesman Daniel Kurzyna mentioned he plans to take action on the August assembly.
The CFB’s board conferences are usually dry, professional forma affairs. However earlier than Schaffer began studying his assertion about denying Adams funds, the assembly was disrupted by a small group of protesters offended concerning the CFB’s flubbed rollout of its 2025 main elections voter information, which included plenty of errors, ensuing within the board having to spend thousands and thousands of {dollars} to right the pamphlet and mail out new ones to metropolis residents.
“$7 million down the drain,” one of many protests shouted earlier than being escorted out of the room.
Initially Revealed: July 15, 2025 at 11:57 AM EDT
