Mayor Eric Adams’ re-election campaign has once again been denied matching funds, resulting in a significant loss of $3 million. The city’s campaign finance oversight board has alleged that his campaign is obstructing the process.
This board, which oversees campaign financing, suggested that Adams, running as an independent in the upcoming November election, might not receive any matching funds. There are concerns that his initial campaign in 2021 may have violated regulations.
Chairman Frank Schaffer stated, “The board is not convinced that public fund payments are justified right now for two main reasons: it appears the Adams campaign did not respond adequately to requests for information and possibly violated the law by not doing so.”
Schaffer added that the board found the campaign’s submissions to be incomplete and misleading, which hindered their ability to complete the ongoing investigation into potential fraud linked to Adams’ 2021 campaign.
The board’s refusal to provide matching funds has become a recurring issue since December when Adams was first removed from the program. This decision has been influenced, in part, by federal allegations of bribery and corruption directed at him and his team’s lack of cooperation regarding fundraising documents.
The campaign insists it has complied with the board’s requests. Recently, a judge ruled against denying funds based on previous allegations, suggesting that taxpayer money could still be made available to Adams.
“We are exploring all legal avenues, including possibly litigation to ensure access to public matching funds,” stated Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for the campaign. “This bureaucratic approach shouldn’t undermine the democratic rights of our supporters.”
This setback poses additional challenges for Adams, notably as he navigates low approval ratings and political struggles. His re-election efforts have garnered $1.5 million recently, especially after socialist Zohran Mamdani’s surprising win in the Democratic primary in June, bringing total contributions to over $6 million.
Adams estimates he is about $2 million shy of the $8 million funding target, with the Campaign Finance Board still reviewing spending as of July.
In contrast, the board granted $1.68 million in matching funds to Mamdani and $1.91 million to GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Mamdani capitalized on his primary fundraising efforts, amassing over $7 million in total. His recent funding boost propels him to over $5 million in cash, while Sliwa has access to over $2 million in matching funds.
Additionally, former governor Andrew Cuomo, who is running independently following a defeat in the Democratic primary, did not report raising funds in this latest round, leaving him with $1.17 million from the primary race as of July 15.
Independent candidate Jim Walden has also received $237,000 in matching funds, bringing his total balance to approximately $1.6 million.
