Borough President Eric Adams reported a massive fundraising haul for his mayoral bid on Thursday, out-raising all of his competitors in the 2021 election to replace Bill de Blasio at City Hall.
The Beep raised a whopping $437,099 from 1,688 individual donations in the most recent campaign disclosure period — from July 2019 through Jan. 11.
Adams’ haul was over $100,000 more than the next highest candidate, City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D—Manhattan) — who reported a $329,472 total over the same timeframe.
The city’s top bean counter, Comptroller Scott Stringer, came in third in the cash race with a $294,455 total from 1,259 donations — less than the previous six-month period, when he reeled in $313,000.
Campaign finance laws give candidates a chance to boost their campaign war chests, however, as political contributions are matched using taxpayer dollars in an effort to boost the impact of grass-roots donations.
All three leading candidates have opted to limit their maximum donations to $2,000 — and therefore, the first $250 of every donation will be matched with public funds at an eight-to-one rate.
When the candidates get the public-money infusion, Adams’ recent six-month total will balloon to $3.1 million, according to campaign rep Evan Thies.
The decision to limit himself to the voluntary $2,000 max is a new one for Adams — who previously accepted contributions of up-to $5,100, the first $175 of which would be matched at a six-to-one rate.
In order to abide by the lower limit and receive the higher matching funds, Adams will refund previous contributions that eclipsed $2,000 — which he accepted in previous disclosure periods, said Thies.
Johnson has pledged to adhere to an even lower limit of just $250, meaning that nearly all of his contributions will be matched at an eight-to-one-rate — bringing his cash-on-hand total to nearly $5.3 million, according to Johnson’s treasurer, Matthew Bergman.
The matching-funds laws — which Johnson helped write as head of the city’s legislature — have benefited the speaker the most, as he has the most small-dollar donors at nearly 5,700.
“We’re thrilled with these results, which show you can run a city-wide campaign powered entirely by people,” said Bergman.
The speaker’s role in creating the new laws drew ire from his competitors, however, who accused him of helping boost his personal ambitions.
“Johnson is abusing his power to benefit himself — period,” said Stringer spokesperson Tyrone Stevens in June.
The Democratic Primary for mayor will be in June 2021, and the general election will take place the following November.
