Opinion: We cannot allow the matching funds program to be sidelined in 2025

Since 1988, New York City’s matching funds program has helped everyday New Yorkers run for office competitively and reduced the role of moneyed interests in our politics. Over the past 36 years, the program has evolved into a well-managed and welcoming system that amplifies the voice of all New Yorkers, no matter their means, and allows highly qualified candidates from all walks of life to participate on a level playing field. Thousands of races have been run using matching funds, increasing the strength of our local democracy and resulting in huge wins for our city. I’m proud to be a participant in my own 2025 City Council race. 

In 2018, voters approved a measure to raise the match rate to 8-to-1. It’s no coincidence that the first election using the new match rate was also the first where we achieved a majority-woman New York City Council. Representation for people of color also jumped from 51% to 67%: a council that finally reflects the population of the city. A whopping 97% of women and people of color who won in 2021 were participants in the matching funds program, according to a report from the Brennan Center for Justice. So were 100% of non-incumbents who won in 2021.

Aside from opening opportunities to diverse candidates, the program comes with a significantly deeper level of financial accountability for candidates and their campaigns. Candidates report regularly to the New York City Campaign Finance Board to remain in compliance with expenditure restrictions. In simple terms, candidates have to prove they’re not engaging in corruption on the taxpayers’ dime. And by participating in the program, candidates must adhere to spending limits, which means campaigns must use their resources wisely and focus on effective voter outreach rather than raising more money. At a time when most voters agree that political ads have gotten out of control, New Yorkers deserve a democratic system where candidates are incentivized to differentiate themselves through the thoughtful articulation of ideas and policy solutions instead of the sheer volume of mailers that their donors will pay for.

However, the system is voluntary, and it only works if candidates agree to participate. While the vast majority of candidates have chosen to utilize the program (including many prolific fundraisers) in the 2025 cycle, we’re seeing a threat emerge to this consensus. A Democratic candidate for City Council in the Upper East Side’s District 4 has opted out of the matching funds program - the only candidate in the entire city to have done so. This exempts the candidate from important contribution limits, spending limits and Campaign Finance Board oversight, allowing big money to pour in from wealthy donors across the country. Everyday New Yorkers will have less of a voice in that race because of this candidate’s choice. This opt-out could create a domino effect. The Campaign Finance Board will likely raise the legal spending limits for the other candidates, including me, who are participating in the program, and we will consequently be forced to join the financial arms race, weakening the voice of everyday New Yorkers throughout the city. And if this strategy proves successful, it will undermine the matching funds program if candidates come to see it as a fool’s bargain. 

It is every candidate’s choice whether to participate in the matching funds program or not - there is no way to require it. And additional oversight and spending restrictions can be considered by some to be burdensome. However, as a participating candidate in the District 4 race, I’ve seen firsthand how empowering it is when my neighbors learn that their small-dollar contributions can make an impact on par with or greater than the wealthiest out-of-state donors. At a time when national policy is for sale to every billionaire willing to cut a check to Donald Trump, our city cannot accept a step backward on critical issues of democracy. Democracy protection begins in our own backyard, and we must demand that everyone participate in good faith accountability to the voters.

My ask is simple, whether you’re a voter, Democratic club or advocacy organization: Support candidates who participate in the matching funds program, whenever possible. Ultimately, it will be up to the people of New York to determine whether they want elections that are unmarred by excessive campaign spending. We cannot reward candidates for flouting a program that has proven essential to free and fair elections.

While our nation wrestles with what it means to hold people accountable in a democracy, it’s more important than ever that New York City serve as a beacon of self-governance “by the people,” and as an inspiration to those around the country fighting to protect our system. We must show them that there is a better way forward.