A member of the New York City Council is floating a plan to give new power and added responsibilities to the watchdog agency running the city’s taxpayer-funded campaign matching funds program amid deepening investigations into Mayor Eric Adams’ 2021 campaign
Restler said he’s introducing the measure to protect the city’s $8-to-$1 matching program by taking aim at the “irregularities and problematic decision-making” of the Adams campaign. Another bill would impose stiffer restrictions on how much lobbyists and other individuals listed in the city’s Doing Business Database can raise as an intermediary on behalf of a candidate. People in the database are currently only limited in how much they can individually give a candidate; there are no restrictions when it comes to how much they can bundle from other donors and give to a campaign.
Paul Ryan, the CFB’s executive director, said he was open to proposals from the Council to strengthen the city's current campaign finance system, but signaled that the agency may need additional funding to get the job done.