Judge Rules Public Campaign Finance Board Must Allow Blakeman Chance to Receive Public Matching Funds
PCFB must respect the judge’s decision and act in a way that gives the public confidence it is promoting fair elections
Today, a NYS Supreme Court justice ruled that the State Board of Election’s Public Campaign Finance Board (PCFB) must give GOP candidate for governor Bruce Blakeman one week to file the proper form to become eligible for public matching funds. Justice Denise Hartman was appointed by Governor Hochul and confirmed by the State Senate.
The judge’s decision effectively overrules the March 31, 2026 vote by the PCFB on party lines to deny Blakeman matching funds, which Reinvent Albany warned in our statement on the vote would be “choosing to poison the program with partisanship.” Reinvent Albany, which worked hard for the state public matching program, also said that “We are disappointed by the officious comments of the Democratic majority on the board, which come across as small-minded and highly partisan.”
We strongly urge the PCFB to move past its wrong-headed partisanship and respect the judge’s sensible decision. The judge’s logic is sound: The PCFB’s own rules and regulations required it to give Blakeman one week to cure his filing. Instead, the PCFB did not notify Blakeman until after the filing deadline had passed, then made the nakedly partisan decision to deny him funds.
We hope the PCFB’s decision will be a single misstep rather than the beginning of a pattern of politicizing the state’s public campaign finance program. The PCFB must not appeal the case.
