Tuesday, April 15, 2025
Year : 2, Issue: 33
by Hannah Fierick & Craig McCarthy, NY Post
Mayoral hopeful Andrew Cuomo was denied public matching funds in his bid for City Hall — delivering a fundraising blow to the tune of nearly $3 million to the current front-runner aiming for a political comeback.
The decision by the Campaign Finance Board came Tuesday morning after the Cuomo campaign sent a panicked email over the weekend to supporters asking them to fill out last-minute forms and digitally give their signatures to ensure matching funds.
The email came with the subject line “Urgent – Action Required” and stressed, “THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT.”
“We need you to complete the form included in this additional email, TODAY IF AT ALL POSSIBLE. We apologize for the inconvenience, but it is critical that we get these forms back as soon as possible.”
The ex-gov’s campaign lost out on roughly $2.7 million in matching funds on $332,530.
The city provides 8-to-1 matching funds for donations up to $2,150 from city residents as part of an effort to open up the field to less wealthy candidates.
The paperwork messup is the latest blunder over just the last few days, including a typo-ridden housing plan and the misspelling of two top union leaders in announcing their endorsements.
“Last Friday, the campaign was informed by the campaign finance board that, due to a technical software error, contributions collected on one of our vendor platforms, NGP, were missing one of the fields required by the Campaign Finance Board, and so while we met the thresholds necessary to receive matching funds, the campaign had to remedy this technical matter,” said campaign spokesperson Rich Azzopardi.
“We have since fully addressed the software issue and have complied with all requirements and will be submitting the proper documentation to the Board within the one week grace period the board allows to remedy technical issues to receive our eligible matching funds on May 12.”
The Cuomo campaign has raised roughly $2.5 million in donations, but that doesn’t include the super PAC that has netted millions more.
Cuomo, Front-Runner in the New York Mayor’s Race, Denied Millions in Matching Funds
by Joe Anuta and Jeff Coltin, Politico
New York City’s campaign finance regulators rejected mayoral front-runner Andrew Cuomo’s request for around $2.5 million in public matching funds Tuesday, an embarrassing glitch for a bid predicated on experience and competence.
Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi blamed fundraising software the team used that he said was missing a field required by the board. After regulators flagged the issue Friday, the campaign rushed to gather information from donors, blasting out an email Sunday morning titled “Urgent – Action Required.”
But it was too late.
“We have since fully addressed the software issue and have complied with all requirements and will be submitting the proper documentation to the Board within the one week grace period the board allows to remedy technical issues,” Azzopardi said in a statement.
Campaign finance records indicate the campaign will be eligible for around $2.5 million in matching funds May 12, provided it makes the mandatory fixes.
Though the news undercuts Cuomo’s argument that he is the most competent of the Democrats looking to replace Mayor Eric Adams, it’s not much of a financial setback for the former governor. Cuomo reported raking in more than $1.5 million in just two weeks after launching his campaign and has brought in an additional $1 million in the month since the last reporting deadline, Azzopardi said Tuesday. He had $1.2 million in the bank March 13 and is being boosted by a super PAC that’s raised nearly $5 million.
Nearly every other top mayoral campaign received payouts Tuesday — including Jim Walden, who is running as a political independent. The board continues to deny Adams $4.5 million in matching funds over bookkeeping irregularities.
Upon announcing he would run as an independent instead of a Democrat, the mayor said he would appeal the ruling in court if need be. But he has yet to take any official action to fight the decision.
