Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo learned Monday that the city’s Campaign Finance Board (CFB) would give his campaign $1.5 million in public matching funds — but chose to withhold another $622,000 over a super PAC supporting his mayoral campaign.
The CFB awarded the 2025 mayoral frontrunner Cuomo public matching funds on May 12 after his campaign resolved clerical errors that prevented him from earning a payout last month. However, the panel decided in the same vote to withhold an additional $622,000 in matching funds that Cuomo would have received because it had “reason to believe” there was “improper coordination” between his campaign and a super PAC supporting it, known as “Fix the City.”
CFB member Richard Davis said the amount the board is withholding matches the sum Fix the City spent on a May 4 ad because the board believes the ad was not “independent of the campaign.”
“Expenditures made in coordination with a campaign are considered in-kind contributions that undercut New York City’s strict spending and contribution limits,” Davis said in announcing the preliminary results of the board’s ongoing investigation.
Cuomo, the former governor who resigned in 2021 amid multiple sexual harassment allegations that he denies, received the $1.5 million in matching funds after the board declined to provide his campaign with any matching funds last month in a blow to his bid. The board cited errors with at least 20% of the paperwork Cuomo’s campaign filed and not meeting the threshold for eligible donations, which can be overlapping issues, in its decision last month.
Cuomo campaign ‘redboxing’ with PAC?
The CFB’s ruling comes after state Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn), who is running against Cuomo, filed a formal complaint with it on May 5 alleging improper coordination between the former governor’s campaign and Fix the City. The decision also followed an email from the board on the same date notifying campaigns that it had adopted stricter rules outlawing coordination between campaigns and PACs in November.
Davis said the board believes that Cuomo’s campaign may have violated city campaign finance rules by making “strategic information or data” publicly available to entities it “knew or should have known” would utilize it—a practice known as “redboxing.” In effect, that means the board suspects Cuomo’s team messaged Fix the City on how to boost his campaign in violation of CFB rules.
The Cuomo campaign appeared to engage in redboxing when it launched a page on its website in late April titled “message for voters,” according to reports by Politico and the New York Times. The page, which the campaign has since taken down, included video clips of Cuomo that could be placed into ads, polling data, and ways to message to specific communities, reports indicate.
Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi insisted in a statement that the campaign is in “full compliance” with campaign finance law and rules.
“Everything on our website was reviewed and approved by our legal team in advance of publication,” Azzopardi said. “We look forward to making that clear when we respond to the Board’s preliminary ruling and receiving the full matching funds to which the campaign is entitled.”
Azzopardi argued that other candidates for public office this cycle, including Brooklyn City Council Member Justin Brannan, who is running for comptroller, have engaged in similar practices. He added that while the campaign lost out on $622,000, it has now raised $3.5 million in private funds and secured $1.5 million in matching funds on Monday.
Myrie, in a statement, claimed the board’s decision confirms that “Andrew Cuomo is for sale,” slamming Fix the City for raising millions of dollars from ultra-wealthy donors.
“While Donald Trump works to dismantle democracy on the national stage, Cuomo and his billionaire backers are trying to buy City Hall,” Myrie said. “New Yorkers need a leader who defends democracy and fights for working people — not one who sells power to the highest bidder.”
New York Working Families Party Co-Chairs Jasmine Gripper and Ana María Archila, in a statement, said Cuomo’s campaign finance mistakes show he is unfit to govern the city.
“Andrew Cuomo’s campaign is giving all of us a glimpse into his inability to run the city. He can’t even get the basics right,” they said. “First, Cuomo couldn’t complete basic paperwork to qualify for matching funds — and now it’s clear he can’t campaign without breaking the law, illegally coordinating with his billionaire-backed super PAC just to stay afloat.”
