Mayor Eric Adams has filed his second lawsuit against the New York City Campaign Finance Board (CFB) over the board’s denial of millions of dollars in public matching funds, citing questionable campaign fundraising tactics.
The new case, filed on Friday, is the mayor’s second lawsuit against the CFB since May. The first case was dismissed by Brooklyn Federal Judge Nicholas Garaufis, who ruled that the board had justification for denying the campaign’s fund requests due to repeated failures to provide documents regarding dubious donations tied to public matching funds.
The latest case argues that the CFB is overbroadly applying its own rules and makes the agency’s denial of matching funds “completely unlawful and indefensible.” However, Judge Garaufis had previously dismissed similar arguments, agreeing that Adams’ campaigns had failed to provide required documentation.
Adams’ campaign has repeatedly requested public matching funds, but been rebuffed by the CFB due to concerns over his fundraising tactics. The board’s investigation into Adams’ 2021 and 2025 mayoral campaigns has resulted in several high-profile subpoenas, including one of a Brooklyn contractor with ties to the Turkish government.
The latest development comes as Adams’ reelection campaign struggles to gain traction, polling below frontrunners in recent polls. Despite this, Adams remains determined to secure public matching funds, claiming that withholding them would “violate both the letter and spirit of the program.”
Source: https://www.thecity.nyc/2025/08/18/eric-adams-campaign-finance-board-matching-funds