Appeals Court Upholds Blakeman's Access To Campaign Match Funds

ALBANY, NY — A New York appeals court on Thursday upheld a lower court’s ruling that the state Public Campaign Finance Board had improperly denied Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman access to millions of dollars in public matching funds and the opportunity to correct his registration with the board.

The appeal ruling is the latest chapter in a legal back-and-forth that began March 31, when the campaign finance board ruled 4-3 along party lines that Blakeman’s paperwork to enroll in the matching funds program was incomplete, noting that Blakeman hadn’t included his running mate, Sheriff Todd Hood, on his forms. Blakeman sued a week later for access to the funds.

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On May 12, Blakeman had his access to campaign match funds restored after Judge Denise Hartman found that a state campaign finance board had broken its own rules when declaring Blakeman ineligible to receive the funds. Hartman wrote that the board should have given Blakeman and Hood the chance to fix their campaign paperwork before decertifying them.

The campaign finance board appealed that ruling, but the appellate court echoed the lower court’s findings, namely that the finance board had a duty to tell Blakeman if his campaign forms were improper and had failed to do so.

In remarks delivered after the ruling came down, Blakeman and Hood’s attorney, Adam Fusco, said the campaign finance board had “tried to play a hidden ball trick” to keep the Republican candidates from gaining access to the matching funds.

“We are thrilled with the Appellate Court’s ruling. The Court recognized that the PCFB’s determination was made in violation of lawful procedure and was affected by an error of law,” Fusco said. “It was arbitrary and capricious to declare the candidates ineligible for matching funds based upon a regulation that was not in effect at the time of certification and a form that to this day has never been promulgated.

Fusco said the PCFB “resorted to partisan politics” in their decision.

“Thankfully, the State’s judiciary realized that we were right on the facts and the law and concluded that Blakeman and Hood are eligible,” he said. “These matching funds will go a very long way toward victory in November.”

The PCFB was not immediately available for comment when Patch reached out.

As the New York City Campaign Finance Board states, the matching program allows candidates to receive matched funds for their campaigns by engaging with New Yorkers. The program is designed to give NYC residents power in their voices and votes by matching their small-dollar contributions to the candidate.

Candidates will have spending limits and can only spend matched funds on their campaign. They must also agree to return any public funds not used to further their campaign.

To be eligible to receive matched funds, candidates must meet certain criteria, including collecting a minimum number of contributions of $10 or more from the area they wish to represent, amongst others.