Mayor Eric Adams was once again denied public matching funds for his re-election bid — the latest blow in his ongoing battle with the city’s Campaign Finance Board.
In a board meeting Thursday, CFB Chair Frederick Schaffer said the board would continue to deny Adams’ independent run millions in public dollars under the city’s generous 8-to-1 matching program, over the same concerns it previously highlighted.
“The Board determined Mayor Adams’ campaign has failed to demonstrate eligibility for public funds payment at this time on two grounds: one, failure to provide requested information, and two, reason to believe the campaign violated the law — the same two grounds that were the bases for the finding of ineligibility on August 6th, the Board’s last payment date,” Schaffer said in a statement.
While Adams lost out on roughly $475,000 in this phase of campaign funding, his opponents raked in big bucks.
Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani, the front-runner according to recent polls, reaped $1.92 million under the program, which matches small donations under $2,000 with public dollars.
Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa scored $1.4 million, while former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing the June primary to Mamdani, snagged $490,000.
Attorney Jim Walden, another independent candidate, received $35,000.
The new payments bring Mamdani’s war chest to a little over $6.3 million, Sliwa’s to roughly $3.4 million and Cuomo’s to about $1.6 million. Without the matching funds, Adams has around $3.9 million cash on hand.
Adams sued the CFB earlier this month, arguing the board was wrongly withholding upwards of $5 million from his campaign.
“We are still awaiting a decision from the judge regarding our legal action. We strongly believe that the Mayor’s rights must be treated fairly and equally, just as with every candidate in this race,” said Adams campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro.
“Mayor Adams has followed all proper procedures, put everything in order under the legal process, and filed accordingly.”
According to the latest filings, Mamdani brought in over $1 million dollars from private donors — with most contributors coming from outside of the Big Apple.
The socialist Queens assemblyman nearly doubled the amount raised by Cuomo.
Sliwa also pulled in impressive numbers — with donations from over 4,400 New Yorkers.
