What to watch for at the NYC Campaign Finance Board meeting

In a sense, the 2025 election cycle truly begins Monday, Dec. 16. That’s the day the New York City Campaign Finance Board meets to issue the first of over a dozen public funds payments to eligible candidates. These funds – made available through the city’s taxpayer-funded 8-to-1 public matching funds system – can spell the difference between victory and defeat for mayoral, City Council, comptroller, public advocate and borough president candidates.

While fundraising is well underway in many of the races, Monday’s meeting will give some insight into what resources candidates will have to work with in the upcoming June primary. Whether New York City Mayor Eric Adams receives millions of dollars in public matching funds – and which of his challengers qualify – will be top of mind for New Yorkers awaiting CFB’s decision.

Here’s what we’ve got our eye on going into Monday’s meeting. 

Will Adams be denied matching funds? 

One of the biggest questions looming over the 2025 election cycle is whether New York City Mayor Eric Adams will even be granted public matching funds for his reelection campaign in light of his federal indictment and other reports identifying potential outstanding violations of campaign finance rules – both before and after he was elected mayor. A major aspect of the federal indictment of Adams alleges that the mayor and his staff solicited and funnelled illegal donations for his 2021 campaign through straw donors to obtain public matching funds. While the contributions from the alleged straw donors amounted to only a portion of the total sum that allowed Adams to qualify for roughly $10 million in matching funds for his 2021 mayoral campaign, the consequences could be steep. Adams has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty to all federal charges.

CFB leaders have declined to give any specifics about their review of Adams 2021 campaign, but given the board’s own rules, it does seem like members could deem the mayor ineligible to receive matching funds. Candidates who owe penalties or public funds payments from a prior election cannot receive public funds, and failing to submit required disclosure statements or provide documents or records – something Adams’ 2021 campaign repeatedly did – can disqualify a campaign from receiving matching funds. Without specifically mentioning Adams by name, CFB Executive Director Paul Ryan suggested at a recent City Council hearing that the board will make “judgment calls” as they make determinations about payments – and that reviewing the allegations in Adams indictment will be part of that decision-making process.

According to CFB’s penalty guidelines, staff can recommend a penalty that goes beyond the standard amount if “the violation appears to have been willful or the result of reckless disregard for the law.” In the most “egregious circumstances,” that could include a penalty of up to $10,000 per violation or the CFB could rule that the campaign breached its certification, meaning the candidate could be deemed ineligible to receive future payments and need to repay all public funds received. Said candidate would be given an opportunity to respond to the allegation. 

Losing his eligibility to qualify for matching funds would be a massive blow for Adams, putting him at a disadvantage in what’s shaping up to be an increasingly competitive field of challengers. But it might also open the door to bigger-dollar donors. 

Which mayoral candidates will qualify for matching funds?

Qualifying for public matching funds isn’t exactly easy. Mayoral candidates must raise a minimum of $250,000 in eligible funds from at least 1,000 New York City residents. To qualify for the Dec. 16 payment, candidates needed to prove they met that threshold through disclosure statements by Oct. 11, 2024. 

Based on the latest campaign finance filings, New York City Comptroller Brad Lander and former Comptroller Scott Stringer have both met the threshold. State Sens. Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie did not. A spokesperson for Myrie’s campaign said they expect the senator to qualify for matching funds by the next payment scheduled for mid January. Other candidates including Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, attorney Jim Walden, and former Assembly Member Michael Blake entered too late to be considered in the first round.

Brad Lander is for real giving up his comptroller seat

Lander, who aside from Adams is currently leading the pack when it comes to fundraising, appears to have qualified to receive roughly $3.5 million under the city’s matching funds program. (That includes donations made when he was running for reelection as comptroller, prior to switching to mayor.) If he accepts matching funds this round for this office, Lander will be committed to running for New York City mayor. More than any other candidate in the race so far, Lander is giving up a coveted seat to challenge Adams, triggering a cascade of open seats down the ballot. Accepting public matching funds for mayor strongly suggests that Lander isn’t going to run for reelection instead. A spokesperson for Lander confirmed Tuesday he does indeed plan to accept matching funds for the mayoral race. 

Other important races

Mayoral candidates aren’t the only people on the upcoming primary ballot hoping to benefit from the matching funds program. CFB will also be voting Monday to approve the first round of payments for other municipal races. Some keys ones to keep an eye on include the competitive comptroller race – Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine is the only candidate so far who seems likely to qualify.

How many more payments are there? 

There are 13 total payment dates scheduled throughout the 2025 election. The first of course is Dec. 16, then there are four others slated to be paid out around the 15th of each month up until April. Then in the direct build up to the June 25 primary, payments will be made on May 12, May 30, and June 20 – each following disclosure deadlines. After the primary, payments will be made July 15, Aug. 6, Aug. 28, Oct. 9 and Oct. 30.