(The Center Square) — New York Republicans are pushing to change the state’s rules to qualify for public campaign financing in a last-ditch bid to restore funding to GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman, who was denied money by a Democratic-controlled board.
Legislation filed by Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt would authorize the state’s Public Campaign Finance Board to accept applications for funding jointly signed by candidates for governor and lieutenant governor for eligibility to participate in the program, which matches the first $250 of contributions to their campaigns by a 6-to-1 margin with taxpayer funds.
The GOP proposal comes in response to the board’s decision last month to block Blakeman from participating in a state program that matches public funds with small campaign donations for qualifying candidates.
Ortt said the legislation would “fix a bureaucratic error that has unfairly harmed candidates who were rightly under the belief they had correctly enrolled and were accepted into the program.
“It fulfills the promise of statute by enabling participation in the democratic process,” Ortt, a Tonawanda Republican, wrote in a summary of the bill. “A technical requirement, which was abruptly added at the last minute, should not disenfranchise a candidate accepted in the program for participation.”
In March, the five-member board, which includes two Republicans, voted along party lines to turn down Blakeman’s request for public funds after ruling that his application was “deficient” because he didn’t list his running mate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood and file the appropriate paperwork to seek the funding. Blakeman reported $1.6 million cash on hand and had asked the board to approve matching funds for $1.4 million.
Republicans blasted the decision, accusing Democrats of conspiring with Gov. Kathy Hochul’s re-election campaign to deprive Blakeman of access to public financing he needs to remain competitive in the race.
Blakeman’s campaign filed a lawsuit earlier this month asking a Supreme Court judge to overturn the board’s decision and restore public funding. The Nassau County Executive’s legal challenge claims the board exceeded its authority when it voted along party lines to kick him out of the program. The outcome of that lawsuit is still pending.
Under the city’s public financing program, candidates for governor must raise at least $500,000 from 5,000 New York-based donors who give $1,050 or less. The maximum payout for a candidate is $3.5 million for both the primary and general elections. Hochul, who reported more than $21.2 million in her campaign account as of mid-January, has declined to participate in the matching public funds program.
“Crooked Albany Democrats don’t want fair elections. They’re scheming for political power, manipulating matching funds to block Nassau Executive Bruce Blakeman from campaign cash. Rigging the system they built,” Ortt posted on social media Tuesday. “If the GOP did this, they’d yell ‘NO KINGS.’ When they do it? Silence.”
