Pols, reformists look to torpedo public campaign funds for Cuomo over suspected rule violations
The city’s Campaign Finance Board should pause its release of public campaign funds to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo while investigating suspected violations of eligibility rules, one Brooklyn lawmaker and good government groups charged Thursday.
Council Member Lincoln Restler and government reform groups Common Cause and Reinvent Albany urged the CFB to continue investigating Cuomo’s campaign for what it believes to be violations of campaign finance rules regarding collaboration with a super PAC supporting his candidacy in the 2025 NYC Mayor’s Race.
On May 12, the CFB ordered the release of $1.5 million in public financing to Cuomo that had been withheld from him back in April over what were called clerical errors. Simultaneously, however, the board withheld an additional $622,000 in matching funds that Cuomo would have received because of it has “reason to believe” there was “improper coordination” between his campaign and a super PAC called “Fix the City” supporting it.
Restler, a progressive who represents parts of northern Brooklyn, charged on May 15 that it was “just one of many” ways the Cuomo for Mayor campaign had allegedly violated CFB rules that determine whether campaigns are eligible to receive taxpayer funding in the form of 8-to-1 matching dollars.
https://www.amny.com/news/cuomo-public-campaign-funds-freeze-rule-violations/