Brannan will have to wait for public matching funds in comptroller race

Council Member Justin Brannan missed out on a payment of public matching funds in his campaign for New York City comptroller on Tuesday, though it wasn’t for a lack of cash. 

The term-limited council member, who is running against Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine for the position, did not complete a required compliance training in time to demonstrate his eligibility for the matching funds payment, the city’s Campaign Finance Board determined. 

Brannan’s campaign said that he had completed the training on Feb. 11, which is past a deadline that requires candidates to complete certain trainings no later than 15 business days before the payment date. The campaign has crossed the two-part fundraising threshold to qualify for matching funds, and the late training was the only reason noted for the campaign’s ineligibility for payment on Tuesday.

The campaign expects to receive a payment of more than $1.5 million in matching funds next month, when the CFB will make payments based on corrections to the most recent filing. The final determination will be made by the CFB. “We completed a training on February 11 that couldn't happen earlier due to scheduling conflicts,” Brannan’s campaign said in a statement. 

Levine has so far brought in more than $1.8 million in matching funds with over $700,000 in private funds raised. Brannan has brought in more than $400,000 in private donations.