All 14 of the borough’s City Council seats are up for grabs…
Now that the June 1 filing date for campaign matching funds has come and gone, 100 Queens residents have registered with the New York City Campaign Finance Board to run for the City Council.
All 14 of the borough’s City Council seats are up for grabs because term limits have prevented Queens’ incumbents from seeking re-election. Brooklyn had the second highest number of City Council candidates, with 97 people registered with the Campaign Finance Board, three less than Queens.
“It was a record-breaking number as a total,” said Molly Watkins, spokeswoman for the Campaign Finance Board, referring to the entire city.
Any candidate who wanted to receive the 4-to-1 campaign matching funds had to file his or her paper work with the Campaign Finance Board by the June 1 deadline. The city will match contributions up to $250 from city residents. This means that for a $250 contribution a candidate will receive $1,000 from the city.
According to a statement from the Campaign Finance Board, the program was implemented to make candidates and the elected officials “more responsive” to residents of New York City rather than special interest groups and to give candidates without the ability to raise “big money” a fighting chance.
The program was also designed to lessen the influence of campaign contributors on the candidates, level the playing field and make the information on the candidates’ finances accessible.
— Adam Kramer
