McCAUGHEY: NYC Campaign Finance Board rigs elections to benefit Democrats

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New Yorkers are under the false impression that the taxpayer-funded New York City Campaign Finance Board is levelling the playing field to make voting for Gotham’s next mayor and other elected officials fair. 

Just the opposite is true. The CFB is doling out obscene amounts of our money to tilt the scales in favour of left-wing candidates. 

The political consultants, pollsters and campaign industry raked in gobs of cash during the recent primary, while the city was pushed to the extreme left, nominating Zohran Mamdani to be the Democratic candidate for mayor. 

Looking ahead to the November general election, taxpayers will be paying more than $100 per vote cast. Worse, if the CFB is allowed to continue its biased methods, most of that money will support left-wing candidates, including Mamdani, and kneecap moderate rivals. 

The CFB was established as an independent city agency in 1988 to give political newbies a fair shot at competing against established pols. The idea was that every dollar raised in small private contributions would be matched by a dollar of taxpayer funds. 

Since then, the match has been increased to a staggering $8 to $1 in the primary and another $8 to $1 in the general election. It’s a gold mine for candidates in the CFB’s good graces. As Mamdani apparently appears to be. 

But not everyone is. 

Last December, the CFB declared incumbent Mayor Eric Adams ineligible for public financing, alluding to federal allegations that have since been withdrawn. The CFB’s action was election meddling — the old “guilty until proven innocent” trick. It’s not the first time. In 2013, the CFB denied matching funds to then-comptroller John Liu in his race for the mayoralty, citing unproven allegations. That allowed communist-loving Bill de Blasio to dominate — a disaster for the city.       

This time around, the CFB is turning a blind eye to abuses by Mamdani that violate the spirit, and possibly the letter, of the public campaign finance system. On May 18, Mamdani urged supporters to donate to former city council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ campaign. Some 370 of his supporters then gave to Adams, making her eligible for nearly $15,000 in public funding. That’s taxpayer money going to a candidate who didn’t have the grassroots support to qualify. 

Not a word from the CFB, even after Adams then instructed her supporters to vote for Mamdani if the ranked-choice voting went into a second round or more. 

CFB also chose to ignore the biggest contributor to Mamdani’s campaign — the Democratic Socialists of America. On Monday, DSA held a video call displaying to its supporters what it provided to Mamdani’s campaign during the last six months: 1.6 million door knocks, 2.3 million phone dials and 30,000 volunteers. DSA explained that it started early, trained leaders and provided canvassing over six months in over 60 neighbourhoods. 

Businesses face severe donation restrictions and candidates must report every penny or in-kind resource they receive. But the DSA poured millions of dollars’ worth of expertise, manpower and sweat equity into a hostile takeover of the Democratic primary on Mamdani’s behalf. The CFB was mum. 

Mamdani is also backed by a far-flung network of leftist non-profits that receive taxpayer funding courtesy of Democratic lawmakers — then provide the expertise, manpower and connections to win political races. They’re outstripping the unions in impact and influence. And worse, gaming the campaign finance system and corrupting its original purpose. 

Mamdani reportedly raised $1,708,494 in individual contributions, which the CFB matched $8 to $1 to yield a whopping $8.75 million just for the primary. But according to CFB filings, 94% — virtually all the contributions — were bundled by one person: Jerrod MacFarlane. He’s a professional fundraiser from The Action Lab, a left-of-centre group. Action Lab is headquartered in Brooklyn, thanks to a “community projects” grant sponsored by Congresswoman Nydia Velazquez that paid for the building. 

Mamdani frequently boasts about the grassroots volunteer movement powering his campaign. But what happened last Tuesday was not an organic rising up of everyday New Yorkers. 

In a city and state dominated by the Left, lawmakers are using taxpayer money to boost the non-profit radical advocacy industrial complex, which then orchestrates their re-election. 

The CFB doles out more taxpayer money, pretending the process is fair. 

Time to eliminate the CFB, let taxpayers off the hook and devise another method to make elections fair.  

 
Betsy McCaughey is a former Lt. Governor of New York State and founder of SAVENYC