With Mayor Eric Adams facing a five-count federal indictment and at least four Democratic primary challengers next year, the quarterly fund-raising reporting deadline on Friday carried heightened intrigue.
Would Mr. Adams see a significant drop-off in donations? And of the candidates seeking to replace him, who would make the most of the mayor’s problems?
The answers were only partially revealed on Friday, with Mr. Adams’s fund-raising disclosures not reported by the New York City Campaign Finance Board by day’s end.
It was not clear if the mayor’s campaign filed disclosures at or past the deadline, or not at all. Vito Pitta, a compliance lawyer for the Adams campaign, did not respond to requests for comment.
As for Mr. Adams’s Democratic rivals, Brad Lander, the city comptroller, claimed bragging rights by bringing his fund-raising total to just under a million dollars for his mayoral campaign so far. It was enough to potentially qualify him to receive $3.5 million in taxpayer money under the city’s matching funds program, which awards candidates $8 for every dollar up to the first $250 donated by a city resident.
Mr. Lander said he was in a “strong position” to qualify for the maximum amount allowed in matching funds, enabling him to hit the $7.93 million spending cap for a primary or special election, should Mr. Adams resign or be forced out. Mr. Lander also raised the most money in the three-month reporting period that ended Oct. 7, collecting just over $315,000.
Scott Stringer, the former comptroller who is running for mayor, brought in $180,000 in the last three months, giving him just shy of $600,000 — which could make him eligible for $2.5 million in matching funds, according to campaign records.
But the pace of Mr. Stringer’s donations tailed off: He had raised just over $410,000 in the previous filing.
“I’m very excited that we are on track to be ready for whatever comes next, whether it’s an immediate special election or a longer fight into the primary,” Mr. Stringer said in an interview.
Zellnor Myrie, a state senator from Brooklyn, raised $137,000, which unlocked another $563,000 in matching funds. He has raised more than $464,000 in total, which could bring him nearly $1.6 million in matching funds. A spokeswoman for Mr. Myrie said the fund-raising haul left him “confident and prepared for any scenario.”
Jessica Ramos, a state senator from Queens who was the most recent candidate to join the race, said her campaign raised over $52,500, short of the $250,000 minimum fund-raising threshold to receive matching funds.
In Mr. Adams’s most recent campaign filings, he reported raising more than $4 million, which could qualify him for another $4 million in taxpayers money through mid-July of this year.
But given that the federal indictment against the mayor involved matching funds, some of his rivals, including Mr. Lander and Ms. Ramos, have questioned whether the mayor should be allowed to participate in the program.
“Keep his hand out of the cookie jar,” Ms. Ramos said.
Lincoln Restler, a councilman from Brooklyn, sent a letter to the Campaign Finance Board last month requesting that Mr. Adams not receive public matching dollars. In an interview, he said the charges against the mayor mean that he should not receive “one more penny” in public matching money.
No candidate has received public matching funds for the 2025 election. Eligibility, including for Mr. Adams’s 2025 campaign, will be determined by the Campaign Finance Board in December.
“The reputation and credibility of our campaign finance system is at stake with their pending decision,” Mr. Restler said.
Federal prosecutors accused Mr. Adams of conspiring with foreign nationals to illegally funnel money into his 2021 and 2025 campaigns through so-called straw donors in New York. Prosecutors said many of these contributions were later multiplied through the city’s 8-to-1 matching funds program.
For his 2021 campaign, Mr. Adams raised almost $9 million and received more than $10 million in public funds, more than any other mayoral candidate that year. But his fund-raising practices had been the subject of intense scrutiny even before his indictment.
In July 2023, the Manhattan district attorney indicted the owners of a construction firm and a former Police Department deputy inspector, Dwayne Montgomery, who was a longtime friend of Mr. Adams. They were accused of using straw donors to illegally obtain tens of thousands of dollars in matching funds for the mayor’s 2021 campaign.
In another case brought by the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York, a Chinese businessman pleaded guilty earlier this year to facilitating straw donations to three U.S. politicians, including Mr. Adams.
And in a draft audit of Mr. Adams’s 2021 mayoral campaign, the Campaign Finance Board flagged 52 donations worth $24,500 from people who either never donated or were reimbursed by others for their contributions. These donations unlocked nearly $50,000 in matching taxpayer money.
Mr. Adams’s campaign has until the end of next month to respond to the questions raised by auditors.
The mayor has also raised $1.7 million for his legal defense fund and spent more than $1.1 million through June 30. Updated figures are due next week.
The post Mayor Adams’s Rivals Reveal Fund-Raising Totals. Mr. Adams? Who Knows. appeared first on New York Times.
