Town Marketing campaign Finance Board (CFB) on Wednesday as soon as once more voted to disclaim Mayor Eric Adams public matching funds for his reelection bid, citing the marketing campaign’s alleged “failure to provide” requested info and “reason to believe” it violated the legislation.
The board’s resolution, rendered throughout an Aug. 6 assembly, drew swift backlash from Adams’ workforce. Todd Shapiro, Adams’ marketing campaign spokesperson, accused the CFB of creating “vague and unsubstantiated accusations” and mentioned the marketing campaign is “reviewing all legal options, including formal action to compel the release of public matching funds.”
Through the board assembly, CFB Chair Frederick Schaffer outlined the 2 central causes for the board’s resolution to once more deny Adams — who’s working as an unbiased candidate after sitting out the Democratic major — roughly $3 million in public marketing campaign funds.
“With respect to the failure to provide requested information, the board finds the campaign has provided incomplete and misleading information to the CFB and has impeded the CFB staff’s ability to complete its investigation,” Schaffer mentioned. “With regard to the second ground, the board’s conclusion is based upon its review of all of the available evidence, including but not limited to its own independent investigation.”
The roughly $3 million in public funds would supply a much-needed money infusion for Adams’ uphill reelection effort because it seeks to defeat Democratic nominee and frontrunner Zohran Mamdani. Adams had a powerful fundraising quarter final month, having raked in $1.5 million between June and July, however continues to be nicely under the $8.3 million spending cap.
Members of the Marketing campaign Finance Board maintain a public listening to on Aug. 6, 2025.Screenshot through YouTube
Schaffer added that the board’s investigation into Adams’ marketing campaign continues to be “ongoing.”
“As stewards of taxpayer dollars, we are committed to enforcing the rules fairly and equally to all candidates,” he mentioned.
On the similar assembly, the board voted to award matching funds to 3 of Adams’ rivals — Mamdani, Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa, and unbiased legal professional Jim Walden.
Mamdani acquired practically $1.7 million, Sliwa got here away with $1.9 million, and Walden was awarded $237,000.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, now pursuing an unbiased run for mayor after shedding the Democratic major, was not amongst these awarded new matching funds. Cuomo marketing campaign spokesperson Wealthy Azzopardi famous in a put up on X (Twitter) that “the reason … was because this wasn’t an active campaign during the last filing period,” and thus the marketing campaign had not sought any funding for that spherical.
Adams marketing campaign raises ‘questions’ about CFB
In the meantime, Shapiro strongly rejected the board’s resolution’s “tone and substance” in a press release.
“Suggesting a ‘failure to provide requested information’ and vague references to an ongoing investigation are deeply concerning and potentially damaging, particularly when no specific violations have been presented,” Shapiro mentioned. “To imply that this campaign is somehow less compliant or less transparent than others, without presenting clear findings, reflects a lack of due process and raises serious questions about fairness, timing, and selective enforcement.”
The board has repeatedly denied Adams’ claims for public funds going again to December.
At first the CFB cited each the marketing campaign’s failure to file required paperwork and Adams’ since-tossed federal indictment, which included allegations that his 2021 marketing campaign defrauded the matching funds program.
The mayor’s marketing campaign then took the board to court docket in Might with the hope of compelling it to launch the funds, however the case was then tossed by a decide final month. The decide dominated the CFB had two legitimate rationales for withholding the general public {dollars}: Adams’ marketing campaign’s failure to offer requested info and file conflicts of curiosity disclosures in a well timed method.
Nevertheless, the decide didn’t agree with the board’s continued reliance on Adams’ corruption case, provided that it was dismissed by a federal decide in April on the request of President Trump’s Justice Division.
