NYC Campaign Finance Board Votes on Enforcement Matters for Four Campaigns
05/21/2020
At today's public meeting, the NYC Campaign Finance Board (CFB) determined that four campaigns from the 2017 election cycle committed violations and assessed penalties for those violations. One campaign was determined to repay public matching funds. Refer to the tables below for details on these determinations. A video record of the meeting is available at nyccfb.info/live.
The Board dismissed a complaint against Maria Castro and found that a second complaint against her was substantiated in part, and dismissed in part. The substantiated portion of that complaint is reflected in the violations and penalties below for that candidate. The Board also dismissed a complaint against another campaign.
In addition to these deliberations, the Board voted to adopt final rules. These rules were adopted for public comment by the Board on February 13, 2020 and published in The City Record on February 24, 2020.
Starting with the 2017 election cycle, the Board is recognizing campaigns that completed the post-election audit process without any violations or penalties assessed by the Board. At today's meeting, the Board applauded the following candidate and their campaign staff for their diligence in maintaining compliance with NYC's campaign finance law.
Completed Audit Process Without Violations or Penalties Assessed by Board
| Candidate | Office | Program Participant | First Time CFB Candidate | Public Funds Received | ||
Michael Beltzer Treasurer: Samelys Lopez |
City Council (District #18) |
Yes | Yes | $85,642 | ||
| Candidate (Election Cycle) |
Office | Violation | Penalty | Total Penalties | ||
| Maria Castro (2017) Treasurer: Maria Castro Public Funds Received: $0 |
City Council (District #4) |
1. Failing to disclose a merchant account | $50 | $15,131 | ||
| 2. Failing to provide bank and merchant account statements | $338 | |||||
| 3. Failing to report transactions | $51 | |||||
| 4. Failing to document transactions | $180 | |||||
| 5. Failing to demonstrate compliance with cash receipts reporting and documentation requirements | $405 | |||||
| 6. Failing to demonstrate compliance with reporting requirements for receipts | $225 | |||||
| 7. Failing to file and late filing of disclosure statements | $1,376 | |||||
| 8. Accepting contributions from corporations, limited liability companies, or partnerships | $372 | |||||
| 9. Accepting contributions from unregistered political committees | $676 | |||||
| 10. Failing to demonstrate that spending was in furtherance of the campaign | $458 | |||||
| 11. Failing to respond to the Initial Documentation Request and the Draft Audit Report | $1,000 | |||||
| 12. Material Misrepresentation* | $10,000 | |||||
| Candidate (Election Cycle) |
Office | Violation | Penalty | Total Penalties | ||
| Bill de Blasio (2017) Treasurer: Henry Gutman Public Funds Received: $3,488,124 |
Mayor | 1. Failing to report transactions | No Penalty | $16,082 | ||
| 2. Failing to demonstrate compliance with cash receipts reporting and documentation requirements | $333 | |||||
| 3. Failing to report transactions in daily pre-election disclosure statements | $500 | |||||
| 4. Accepting over-the-limit contributions | $10,398 | |||||
| 5. Failing to demonstrate compliance with intermediary reporting and documentation requirements | $300 | |||||
| 6. Failing to document transactions | $1,100 | |||||
| 7. Accepting contributions from corporations, limited liability companies, or partnerships | $1,500 | |||||
| 8. Failing to demonstrate that spending was in furtherance of the campaign | $1,678 | |||||
| 9. Making impermissible post-election expenditures | $273 | |||||
| Candidate (Election Cycle) |
Office | Violation | Penalty | Total Penalties | |
Josue Perez (2017) Treasurer: Alexis Perez Public Funds Received: $41,712 |
City Council (District #10) |
1. Failing to demonstrate compliance with cash receipts reporting and documentation requirements | $315 | $815 | |
| 2. Maintaining a petty cash fund greater than $500 | $350 | ||||
| 3. Failing to document transactions | $150 | ||||
| Candidate (Election Cycle) |
Office | Violation | Penalty | Total Penalties | |
| Antonio Reynoso (2017) Treasurer: Bix Ellenbecker Public Funds Received: $96,133 |
City Council (District #34) |
1. Failing to disclose a merchant account | $100 | $4,749 | |
| 2. Failing to provide merchant account statements | $300 | ||||
| 3. Failing to demonstrate compliance with cash receipts reporting and documentation requirements | $510 | ||||
| 4. Failing to report transactions in daily pre-election disclosure statements | $250 | ||||
| 5. Accepting over-the-limit contributions | $1,800 | ||||
| 6. Accepting contributions from corporations and limited liability companies | $815 | ||||
| 7. Accepting contributions from unregistered political committees | $125 | ||||
| 8. Failing to demonstrate that spending was in furtherance of the campaign | No Penalty | ||||
| 9. Making impermissible post-election expenditures | $849 | ||||
| Candidate (Election Cycle) |
Office | Public Funds Repayment |
Antonio Reynoso (2017) Public Funds Received: $96,133 |
City Council (District #34) |
$1,340.53* |