NY GOP gov hopeful eyes lawsuit as state Dems poised to strip him of millions in matching campaign funds
New York’s Republican gubernatorial hopeful is preparing to possibly sue the state — accusing Gov.Kathy Hochul and her fellow Democrats of “corruption” and trying to “rig the system” by denying him millions in matching campaign funds.Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman, who trails Hochul’s massive war chest by nearly $20 million, is reportedly poised to be disqualified from the state’s Public Campaign Finance Program for failing to meet a newly created filing requirement.
The Public Campaign Finance Board — where Democrats hold a 4-3 majority — is set to vote Tuesday on Blakeman’s fate in the program, which is at risk over what critics called “an easily correctible filing error.”“My campaign has already been certified for matching funds, and any attempt to disqualify it now would raise serious concerns about political interference,” Blakeman told The Post. “If such action occurs, we will pursue legal remedies, including disclosure of communications that may involve Kathy Hochul and her campaign staff.”The board in December — the same month that Blakeman announced his run for governor — added a rule requiring all candidates on a ticket to file for the public matching funds.Blakeman’s running mate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, never submitted his own paperwork.But the document Hood was required to hand in doesn’t even exist yet, as the board enacted the joint-filing rule without actually creating the form candidates were supposed to use, according to Blakeman’s campaign.“[Hochul] is trying to rig the system,” Blakeman’s campaign spokesperson, Madison Spanodemos, claimed. “The form they claim [Hood] needed to file doesn’t even exist, and Hochul changed the rules right after Bruce qualified — pure corruption,” she charged. Hochul’s campaign didn’t return requests for comment.For Blakeman, the financial stakes couldn’t be higher.
If Democrats vote to give him the boot from the program this week...