NYC NOW - NYC Now Explains: How Mayor Adams Is Testing the Campaign Finance Board

Episode Date: April 12, 2025

This week, we’re turning our attention to Mayor Adams’ campaign finances. In his successful 2021 bid, he raised big money. He later landed in hot water with federal prosecutors, accused of taking travel perks and illegal campaign contributions in exchange for official acts. But those charges have since been dismissed, leaving the city's Campaign Finance Board on its own to hold the mayor accountable. Host Janae Pierre and WNYC’s senior politics reporter Brigid Bergin explore what lies ahead for Adams as he pushes for reelection.Miss the previous episodes in our series? Listen to #1 here, #2 here, and #3 here.

Janae, I want to start with a little political trivia. Oh, my God, Bridget. I actually hate trivia. What's up? Okay, so this time four years ago, guess which mayoral candidate was leading in the polls? Wasn't it Eric Adams? No. Oh.

It was Andrew Yang. We'll reopen intelligently to revive our incredible culture. Maybe we can even save the Knicks. When he jumped into the mayor's race four years ago, we were deep in the pandemic. I remember I was sitting in my home office. It was cold. It was late at night. I was watching his launch video, and it showed a picture of him out campaigning with a mask on.

Thank you. It said Yang for mayor. Let's fight for a future New York City that we can all be proud of. Paid for by Yang for New York. Remember, we were all wearing masks back then. Yeah. Campaigning during the pandemic was a crazy time. That's right.

And when he jumped in, he really sucked all the oxygen out of the mayor's race. it suddenly raised the stakes for all the candidates, and notably for Eric Adams, because they were competing for some of those same moderate Democratic voters. And Andrew Yang was fresh off of that 2020 presidential run, so he really had some name recognition. Yeah, exactly. And obviously that name recognition, that celebrity, having some personal wealth, that can really skew the odds in a candidate's favor. Yeah. Just like this year, it was really crowded in 2021. And Eric Adams, you know, he's Brooklyn Borough president. He is not a millionaire.

Yeah, in fact, he ran as the city's blue-collar candidate. That's right. And so the irony of what I'm about to tell you, Jeney, is the very system he used to beat a guy like Yang is also what led to his undoing. And now it's created a test for that system itself. From WMYC, this is NYC now. I'm Jenae Pierre. Welcome back to our weekly system. looking into the turmoil that's consumed the Adams administration and the various political forces at play.

Last week, we traveled to Southeast Queens, one of the mayor's key strongholds, to see how voters are processing the chaotic political moment. This week, we're turning our attention to his campaign, how he raised big money, why prosecutors say he broke the rules, and now that those charges have been dropped, whether he might be able to get that money in the future. I maxed out. I was finished. I'm raising money. I was done. And we're going to do everything that's possible to fight for our matching funds. Bridget Bergen is a senior reporter on WMYC's politics team. Before we dive in here, Bridget, in that clip that we just heard, the mayor mentioned matching funds. What's that all about?

Candidates running for city offices like mayor are eligible for money for their campaigns through a program run by the New York City Campaign Finery. board. The board itself and this matching funds program date back 30 years ago when another New York City mayor was facing his own set of scandals. There's corruption. There's been corruption, as I've said so many occasions since Adam and Eve and the two guerrillas who came before them. Some of you may be corrupt. I recognize that voice. That's Mayor Ed Koch. But connect that to the city's campaign finance program. So, Jeney, there was a lot of drama that engulfed the Koch administration, and it hits this crescendo in 1986 with political allies caught up in bribery and extortion scandals. I found that there were people in government, people who I've worked with

over the years who were corrupt, who violated their oaths of office, and some of them have been convicted after trial. One of them, Donald Manis, committed suicide. those trauma, those tragedies for government, for the individuals involved would be my greatest pain or disappointment. But Adams is the first modern city mayor to be indicted, so Koch was never personally implicated. Right, but there's still lots of fallout throughout city government. So to restore some credibility, Koch pushed the Campaign Finance Act, which established the New York City Campaign Finance Board.

And the board set new rules for campaigns, limiting the size of campaign. donations. And then came the public matching funds. So what's the idea behind that? So the program has really evolved over time, but by 2021, for participating candidates' contributions up to $250 could be matched eight to one. So your $10 contribution is worth $90. Your $250 contribution is worth $2,250. Yeah, slow it down, BB. We're sounding like a WMIC pledge drive. I wish someone would match our donations 8 to 1 because that's big money. Adams spent $20 million on his 2021 campaign, and about half of that was for matching funds. Now, he ran against Curtis Leeuah in the general election, and as I recall, that race was never expected to be close.

No, Janae, it never really was. But the Adams campaign still kind of stepped on the gas when it came to fundraising after the primary. And when the campaign finance board asked for specific information, the Adams campaign just ignored them. And the thing is, when you opt into this program, you're agreeing to a pretty rigorous set of rules. So Adams didn't follow those rules? According to former U.S. attorney Damian Williams, he broke them every which way. Up next, federal prosecutors accused the mayor of trading his political influence for travel perks and campaign cash. That's after the break.

Today we are announcing campaign finance, bribery, and conspiracy charges against Eric Adams, the mayor of New York City. As the indictment alleges, Mayor Adams engaged in a long-running conspiracy in which he solicited and knowingly accepted illegal campaign contributions from foreign donors and corporations. Jene, there were five charges in that indictment, Damien Williams unveiled last September. As we allege, Mayor Adams took these contributions even though he knew they were illegal. And even though he knew these contributions were attempts by a Turkish government official and Turkish businessmen to buy influence with him. The prosecutors are saying the mayor took high-end travel perks and those illegal campaign contributions in exchange for official acts.

But some of those illegal campaign contributions were also flagged by the campaign finance board. Okay. And to be clear here, Bridget, those charges were recently dropped. And the mayor's always said he never did anything wrong. Right. However, the board still has its own open issues. Yeah, the campaign finance board regularly reviews the filings from candidates. They want to make sure taxpayer dollars, our money, is going to candidates who are dotting all their eyes and crossing all their teas. And I'm guessing some of that was missing from the Adams campaign. Right. So let me share some numbers that illustrate that. In 2021, Adams spent nearly $20 million on his campaign. About half of that, 10. million dollars was from matching funds. This past summer, when the board did a preliminary audit looking at all the documentation the campaign had filed, there was a $2.3 million gap in the campaign

records. And this was all before the mayor was indicted and we knew what prosecutors were looking at. After the indictment, his campaign resolved some of the open issues, mostly a bunch of payroll stubs. But because of his potential trial, they didn't resolve all of them, and there was still so much that appeared to violate the program's rules. For example, here's some notes that a batch of donors to the Adams campaign wrote along with their donations, quote, my friend is paying for me, quote, I used my parents' credit card, quote, paying for someone else. Genet, you're not supposed to do that. All right, Bridget, that's a lot of details. about the mayor's campaign finances from last cycle.

But this time, he isn't getting any of that money, right? Yeah, Jenae. At the moment, the mayor isn't getting any public funds for his reelection campaign. And the board's reason for disqualifying him was his corruption case? It was definitely a big motivator. When the campaign finance board announced his decision to withhold matching funds from the mayor back in December, it was after the indictment. After thoroughly reviewing all available information, including the details of the indictment of Mayor Adams, the board has determined that there is reason to believe the Adams campaign has engaged in conduct

detrimental to the matching funds program in violation of law, including the Campaign Finance Act and board rules. So the board's pointing to allegations in the indictment, but that wasn't their only reason. His campaign also failed to provide documents and information requested by the board. Accordingly, Mayor Adams' campaign for re-election has failed to demonstrate eligibility for public funds payment at this time. Okay, so again, the federal charges are gone. But what does that mean for the board? Has anything like this happened before? So, Jeney, the only comparable situation is from back in 2013.

City controller John Liu was running for mayor, and two of his campaign associates were charged and found guilty in connection with a straw donor scheme. And a straw donor scheme is where the person whose name is on the donation isn't actually the person given the money. Exactly. So Lou was never charged himself, but those guilty verdicts prompted the board to withhold matching funds from his campaign. And at the time, Lou's campaign attorney said, the move amounted to the death penalty for his campaign. Lou ended up suing the board over the decision and lost on all counts except a technicality. So this situation with Adams is another high-stakes reputational risk for the program. Yeah, the board has already come under scrutiny for all the money they gave Adams for the last campaign.

But they continued, you know, to sift through his 2021 and 2025 filings. and they've actually been finding more reasons why he shouldn't get matching funds. Like major errors in what the campaign says it raised and what it's actually documented. And then they're spending on airfare, restaurants, even a Texas jeweler that's raising red flags. So what's next for Adams in his campaign? His campaign says all options are on the table. And they've hinted at the prospect of a lawsuit if they don't get matching funds. But so far there's no evidence.

formally appealed the board's decision to withhold money in writing, which the board requires. Bridget, I'm wondering, is there a scenario where Mayor Adams could write all his wrongs and still score some campaign cash? I mean, if he can come up with explanations for all the different violations he's accused of, perhaps there's a way he could be eligible for matching funds. And, you know, not to sound hyperbolic, but this case really does go beyond Adams. It's also, you know, there are big implications for the few. of democracy in New York City. Tell me more about that. Well, the campaign finance board is all about leveling the playing field. It's supposed to make it so anybody can run. You don't have to be

independently wealthy. Connected to big donors. You don't have to come out of a party machine. You don't have to be an incumbent. But it's also about deterring corruption. You're supposed to follow the rules. Yeah. And now if Adams' attorneys for his campaign fight to get this money, it seems like a major test for the program. It really is. For the campaign, board, this thing that's supposed to be an equalizing force, Adams has been accused of violating its rules to an unprecedented degree. So he's testing its integrity and its teeth. Yeah, in fact, not getting matching funds for his current re-election campaign could actually be the least of his problems. Even though the fed's drop charges connected to his 2021 campaign, there are still

all these unresolved issues with the campaign finance board. So broadly speaking, there are three scenarios here. Let's call them the good, the bad, and the ugly. Okay. So good, he gets matching funds, goes on to win re-election, everything's fine. This is what the mayor and his lawyers are trying for now. We believe we should not have lost our matching funds, and we're going to do everything possible to fight for them.

What's bad? The bad is he gets slapped with fines, and, you know, essentially closes out the tab from 2021, but that's the end of it. Yeah, what about the ugly? Well, the ugly, the ugly is real ugly. The board permanently bars him from the program, orders him to repay the $10 million in matching funds he got last time, and he loses re-election.

That's WMYC's Bridget Berg. Got a shout out the folks that made this episode possible, Sean Boutage, Stephen Brown, Bridget Bergen, Audrey Cooper, Stephanie Clary, Maya Hibbitt, Owen Kaplan, Leora Noam Kravitz, Jared Marcel, and Wayne Schoemeister. I'm Jene Pierre. This is NYC Now. Next week, how the Trump administration's order to drop Mayor Adams' corruption case led a group of federal prosecutors to revolt.