Congratulations, New Yorkers: You once again get to shell out big bucks for nothing. We’re talking about your involuntary “donations” to the horde of hacks hoping to become the next public advocate.
The campaigns of Assemblyman Michael Blake (D-Bx.) and City Councilman Jumaane Williams (D-B’klyn) have each already crossed the million-dollar line.
But it took a big assist from the mayor and City Council, who recently raised the public “match” for small donations to 8:1. Most of each million is coming from the taxpayers:
Blake has raised $300,000-plus, with nearly a third of it qualifying for a taxpayer match, which yields him almost $800,000 more — for a total of $1.09 million.
Williams’ donations come to a bit over $200,000, but more than half of that is covered by the 8:1 match, for close to $900,000 in public cash. His total: $1.06 million.
That’s $1.7 million in your money for just two of the 21 candidates in the race. More will score big public jackpots: The pack includes several other members of the City Council and Assembly, who should all have lucrative small-donor fund-raising lists.
All for a special election on Feb. 26 to fill the job for just 10 months, with some of the same candidates likely to try again in the June Democratic primary — when they can draw yet another bath of taxpayer money.
And all for a post with no real responsibilities and a budget of just $3.5 million a year, a position that exists almost exclusively to give its occupant the chance to angle for higher office.
This mess is actually how progressives want public financing of campaigns to work, so we don’t expect it to prompt the end of this ridiculous system. But it sure ought to win new support for the bill from Councilman Kalman Yeger (D-B’klyn) aiming to abolish the office of the public advocate.