Mayor de Blasio might be a heavy favorite for re-election, but that didn’t stop him from getting $2.57 million in taxpayer matching funds for his campaign.
The Campaign Finance Board on Thursday approved $6.76 million in public matching fund payments to 51 candidates – and de Blasio walked off with nearly 40 percent.
And it’s not as though he needs the money.
As of last month, the mayor had $2.6 million left in his campaign account out of $4.8 million he had raised.
He was automatically entitled to $958,000 in matching funds as part of the city’s campaign finance program, but requested nearly $2 million more, claiming he is facing a serious challenge from former Democratic Brooklyn Councilman Sal Albanese and other lesser-known candidates.
De Blasio defended taking a public handout, saying at the unrelated event, “I don’t believe there is any way to know what’s going to happen in an election.
“I think that those who believe they understand elections before they happen were rudely awakened on November 8th, and I don’t take anything lightly,” he added, referring to President Trump’s victory. “There’s a set of rules; that’s what I know.”
Albanese has yet to qualify for matching funds. He had $72,416 left in his campaign account as of last month out of $124,124 taken in.