Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), who is the frontrunner for the Democratic nomination in the New York City mayoral race, lost out on more than $600,000 in public matching funds over accusations that his campaign illegally coordinated with a super PAC.
The ruling from the New York City Campaign Finance Board came after a complaint from one of Cuomo’s opponents, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie (D), and a preliminary investigation into the accusation that Cuomo’s campaign engaged in a practice known as “redboxing.”
Campaigns are not allowed to coordinate with super PACs, but redboxing is a way for them to get around this by posting what messaging they want to get to voters to let super PACs know what to have their ads say.
Myrie alleged last week that an ad from the pro-Cuomo super PAC, Fix the City, had used similar language and themes to the messaging that Cuomo’s campaign included on its website on what it believes is important for voters to know about Cuomo.
“These statements serve no discernible purpose except to direct potential independent expenditure efforts,” the letter states.
