NEW YORK — Mayor Eric Adams’ reelection campaign is pressing regulators to release millions of dollars in public matching funds that he was denied over ethics concerns.
Adams’ campaign sent a letter to the New York City Campaign Finance Board on April 25 formally petitioning the board to reconsider its decision first made four months earlier, in December.
His attorney Vito Pitta complained in the letter that the board was not specific enough in explaining its reasoning and was wrong to rely on any “unsubstantiated allegation” when basing its decision on a now-dismissed federal indictment and other ethics probes swirling around City Hall.
“This arbitrary and capricious and overbroad determination, that is based only on a vague and conclusory statement that it has reason to believe violations have occurred, cannot stand,” Pitta wrote in a four-page letter.
Though Adams has talked about fighting the board for public funds for months, Pitta’s letter marked the first time the campaign actually petitioned the board to reverse its decision. The campaign wanted to wait until the disposition of the criminal case, Pitta told POLITICO on Friday.
Pitta did not argue in his letter that Adams was innocent of wrongdoing, instead writing that the board’s determination was so “conclusory and insufficiently explained” that he couldn’t challenge it on the merits.
A spokesperson for the board declined to comment. Pitta declined to comment on the most recent move beyond providing the letter.
The board denied Adams as much as $4.5 million in public matching funds on Dec. 16, citing bookkeeping irregularities and the criminal case against Adams involving straw donors. The corruption case was dismissed on April 2, after President Donald Trump’s administration intervened. But the Campaign Finance Board reiterated its denial of matching funds in an April 15 letter to the Adams campaign and expanded its rationale — citing the dramatic back-and-forth between Trump’s Justice Department and Manhattan federal prosecutors over the dismissal and allegations of a quid pro quo, which Adams denies.
The board is continuing its investigation into Adams’ campaign finances, POLITICO reported. It’s requesting more information about suspicious donations to the mayor’s successful 2021 run and asked Adams’ campaign committee about an office used by his fundraiser Winnie Greco, whose two homes were raided by FBI agents in February 2024.
“The campaign legal team will be responding to all inquiries from the Campaign Finance Board,” Adams campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro said in a statement.
Pitta waived the campaign’s right to appear before the board in person. Board rules give the CFB until the end of the day Friday to make a determination, but the board had not responded as of 3:45 p.m., Pitta said.
If Adams’ campaign disagrees with its determination, it could sue. Shapiro previously told POLITICO the campaign “will continue to pursue every legal avenue to obtain the matching funds to which we believe we are rightfully entitled.”
The Democratic mayor is considered a long shot to maintain his position for another term and is running as an independent to increase his chances of victory. After declining to run in the Democratic primary, Adams is now planning to run in November and petitioning for two independent ballot lines in the general election, “EndAntiSemitism” and “Safe&Affordable,” POLITICO first reported.
His campaign reported having more than $3 million on hand in March, but is eager to get the millions of dollars in matching funds to reach the general election’s $7.9 million spending limit.
Pitta’s letter noted that Adams filed the personal financial disclosure on April 14, which is required to receive matching funds.
