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NYC Council eyes stricter fundraising rules amid legal probes into Mayor Adams' campaign
By
Brigid Bergin
Published Jun 5, 2024
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By
Brigid Bergin
Published Jun 5, 2024
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A member of the New York City Council is floating a plan to give new power and added responsibilities to the watchdog agency running the city’s taxpayer-funded campaign matching funds program amid deepening investigations into Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign fundraising.
Councilmember Lincoln Restler, who chairs the Council’s committee on government operations, is introducing legislation this week that would empower the city’s Campaign Finance Board to withhold taxpayer matching money to political campaigns that do not respond to the agency’s requests for information about their contributors within 30 days. The agency would also be mandated to verify the identities of certain campaign contributors.
The proposals come amid federal and local probes into the mayor’s 2021 fundraising operation, where his campaign secured $10 million in matching funds even after the Campaign Finance Board sought, but never received, information about hundreds of flagged donations.
So far, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg has indicted six people for a straw donor scheme that sought to secure thousands of dollars in public matching funds for Adams’ campaign from donors who were illegally reimbursed. Four people have pleaded guilty.
There are also ongoing investigations by federal prosecutors from the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York into other aspects of the mayor’s campaign fundraising and the potential influence of foreign nationals.
Neither the mayor nor any of his campaign staff have been charged with any wrongdoing.
Vitto Pitta, an attorney for Adams’ campaign, declined to comment about the new legislation or criticisms of the campaign.
Restler said he’s introducing the measure to protect the city’s $8-to-$1 matching program by taking aim at the “irregularities and problematic decision-making” of the Adams campaign.
“Over the last two years, we've read dozens of articles about irregular, if not illegal activity, by the Adams campaign in 2021,” Restler said. “There have been multiple convictions relating to straw donor operations and unfortunately, the Adams ‘21 campaign gave a playbook for how to evade the campaign finance rules in New York City.”
The city’s matching funds program aims to boost small campaign contributions by matching them with public money, effectively amplifying more modest donations.
Restler’s package includes three bills.
The measure that would give the CFB new authority to withhold matching funds would also require agency staff to confirm the identities of donors who donate through candidates through contribution cards, documents submitted by campaigns that include basic information about a donor’s name and address. The CFB would also need to verify the identity of donors who give money through so-called intermediaries, someone who collects contributions from others on behalf of a candidate.
Another bill would impose stiffer restrictions on how much lobbyists and other individuals listed in the city’s Doing Business Database can raise as an intermediary on behalf of a candidate. People in the database are currently only limited in how much they can individually give a candidate; there are no restrictions when it comes to how much they can bundle from other donors and give to a campaign.
A third bill would require the CFB to send a notice to anyone who is listed as a campaign donor with details about their contributions and how to contact the board if they have any questions about the donation.
Restler said the goal is to discourage bad actors from utilizing other people’s information to make political donations without their knowledge.
Paul Ryan, the CFB’s executive director, said he was open to proposals from the Council to strengthen the city's current campaign finance system, but signaled that the agency may need additional funding to get the job done.
"Campaign finance is a critical tool for increasing accountability in government,” Ryan said in a statement. “We look forward to collaborating with Council leadership to further advance that mission, and to ensure we have the resources we need to administer and oversee a matching funds program that meets the needs of today's election landscape.”
Still it’s unclear if the proposed regulations will do enough to address some of the biggest known gaps in the city’s campaign finance system.
Gothamist reported that the CFB flagged nearly 400 donations to Adams’ 2021 mayoral campaign seeking more information on what are called “suspected intermediary reports.” While those queries are in the campaign’s possession, the agency does not currently withhold payments to a campaign for not responding to its inquiries.
One of the biggest challenges to the campaigns is determining who has to identify to the CFB as an intermediary, and who fits into the broad range of exceptions to the rule. Currently, people do not need to be disclosed as intermediaries if they are the candidate’s immediate family, the host of a fundraising event that the candidate pays for, or if the candidate attends the event and personally solicits donations.
Restler said the Council is in ongoing discussions with the CFB over who should be identified as an intermediary.
A hearing on the legislation is scheduled for next Friday.
Tagged
new york city
public safety
manhattan
Politics
eric adams
Brigid Bergin
Brigid Bergin is an award-winning senior reporter on the People and Power desk. She is fiercely committed to telling stories that help people engage and support democracy. In 2022, she hosted a live, ten-week call-in politics show ahead of the midterm elections called The People's Guide to Power. Brigid's reporting in 2017 included some of the first coverage of a political newcomer now known as AOC. In 2016, she broke the news of a voter purge in Brooklyn just days before New York’s presidential primary, triggering city, state and federal investigations. Brigid also guest hosts The Brian Lehrer Show and All Of It. She graduated from the University at Albany and the CUNY Newmark School of Journalism. Got a tip? Email [email protected] or Signal 917-723-4719.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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