A city council member is pushing to prevent former Governor Andrew Cuomo from receiving public matching funds for his mayoral campaign.
Council member Lincoln Restler (D-Brooklyn) urged the Campaign Finance Committee (CFB) to deny taxpayer money to Cuomo, accusing him of violating campaign rules through an “amendment” of a Super PAC and possibly running an illegally coordinated campaign.
“Andrew Cuomo is not adhering to the rules,” Restler stated outside City Hall, just three days after the CFB declined to provide $600,000 over concerns of violations.
“He seems to break the rules at every turn,” said Restler, who chairs the council’s government steering committee. “We need accountability.”
Restler remarked, “There’s fire where there’s smoke,” expressing a desire for the suspension of matching funds and calling for a thorough investigation by the CFB into the Cuomo campaign.
Alongside Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reinoso and representatives from an election reform group, Restler emphasized the need for a comprehensive inquiry into Cuomo’s campaign activities.
“I want to ensure elected officials serve the public, not corporate interests,” Reinoso commented before the CFB’s budget hearing.
Cuomo has been under scrutiny, as rival mayoral candidate Zellnor Myrie filed a complaint with the CFB, alleging that Cuomo’s campaign is engaging in “Red Box” practices, which involve steering candidates towards specific data or language in an illegal manner.
Amid these allegations, Cuomo received $1.5 million from the CFB just recently.
Restler has also faced accusations of benefiting from several private lobbyists raising funds for him, reportedly ignoring multiple warnings from the board in the process.
During Thursday’s budget hearing, the CFB refrained from providing details about ongoing investigations. Paul Ryan, executive director of the CFB, mentioned that the board is dealing with a backlog in audits dating back to 2021, with only 43% of that year’s audits completed.
Rich Azzopardi, a spokesperson for Cuomo, criticized Restler, labeling him as a “Lackey” for current city secretary Brad Lander. Azzopardi claimed New Yorkers see through what he characterized as a weak attempt at interfering with the election.
He insisted that Cuomo’s campaign is fully compliant with campaign finance laws, adding that all content on their website had been vetted and approved by legal counsel before publication, similar to what he believed other candidates had done.
