Andrew Cuomo warned: Don't pass notes to super PAC
NEW YORK — Campaign finance regulators sent a warning shot to Andrew Cuomo, the Democratic front-runner in the New York City mayoral race, over a recent practice that raised concerns.
The New York City Campaign Finance Board emailed all city campaigns Monday noting that the board had
adopted new rules
in November, strengthening those outlawing coordination between candidates and independent expenditure committees, known as super PACs.
That followed
POLITICO's reporting last week
that Cuomo was using an increasingly common legal practice known as 'redboxing' to communicate his preferred messaging and advertising strategy.
Anybody can read the
'message for voters' page
, found through a small link on the bottom of Cuomo's campaign website, but the presumed target is political operatives working for the super PAC supporting Cuomo, Fix the City. That PAC could then utilize more than a dozen preferred video clips of Cuomo speaking, or specific instructions that include a call for ads targeting people between the age of 40 and 55 who consume non-traditional media.
Federal election laws permit the practice as long as the information is posted publicly, where anyone can see it. But the city has stricter rules, following a board vote last November.
The email from the board noted it could be considered illegal coordination with a campaign for a super PAC to use 'strategic information or data related to the candidate' in a way that the candidate 'knew or should have known would facilitate the spender's use of the information.'
If the board finds a candidate did coordinate, the penalties could be devastating — going as far as to make a campaign ineligible for public matching funds or making them repay funds already received, the email notes.
The Campaign Finance Board declined to comment. Cuomo's campaign said it is following the law.
'At 4:30 p.m today, I spoke to the Campaign Finance Board who informed me that this letter wasn't directed at the Cuomo campaign,' campaign attorney Marty Connor said in a statement. 'While they were aware of the week-old news report surrounding the language on the campaign's website, the CFB said if they had an issue with it they would have contacted us directly. The language on the website is from public polling or other publicly available information and in accordance with the law.'
State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, another candidate in the Democratic primary,
submitted a complaint
to the Campaign Finance Board Monday alleging illegal coordination between the Cuomo campaign and the super PAC.
TV ads run by Fix the City 'closely mirror the language and themes set forth on the campaign website's messaging page,' reads the complaint, which was first reported by
The New York Times
.
The Cuomo-allied super PAC, helmed by longtime confidant Steve Cohen, has raised more than $6 million as of April — providing him with significant firepower ahead of the June 24 Democratic primary. Super PACs have been set up for rival candidates Zohran Mamdani and Scott Stringer — Mamdani's has $64,000 and Stringer's has yet to report any fundraising.
Fix the City has yet to receive the letter from campaign finance regulators, a spokesperson said.
'Fix the City is an independent committee with a board of responsible and experienced professionals,' spokesperson Liz Benjamin said. 'It operates within the rules and takes its obligations seriously.'
Fix the City in April released one television ad, a biographical commercial highlighting Cuomo's record as governor; more spots are expected.
The group has received contributions from deep pocketed donors who have ties to President Donald Trump, including
billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman
. Donations have also poured in from well-heeled real estate executives.
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