In response to corruption scandals in the mid-1980’s, a series of ethics reforms is enacted. Most notable of these was the Campaign Finance Act, adopted on February 29. A Charter revision approved by the public through a city referendum established the Campaign Finance Board (CFB), an independent and nonpartisan agency charged with limiting the role and influence of private money in the political process. This is accomplished by providing public matching funds to candidates for city office to run their campaigns. The CFB is also mandated to publish a voter guide and provide public disclosure of campaign finance information.

This year’s citywide elections mark the first test of New York City’s pioneering Campaign Finance Reform Program. The CFB matches private contributions from New York City residents at a rate of $1-to-$1, up to the first $1,000 per contributor. The Board disburses $4.5 million in public matching funds to 36 candidates. The CFB also publishes and distributes the first Voter Guide, written in both English and Spanish, to nearly 3 million New York City households.

In response to feedback from candidates, the Candidate Services Unit is created to work closely with campaigns to explain the way the Program works and help campaigns comply with the law.

In citywide elections nearly $6.5 million in public matching funds is paid to 65 participating candidates. The CFB creates computer software to allow candidates, for the first time, to organize and file their financial disclosures electronically. The Voter Guide is expanded to include printings in Chinese. New York City voters approve term limits by referendum, limiting all city office holders to two terms of four years.

Legislation is enacted requiring candidates for citywide offices who join the Program, to participate in a series of public debates as a condition of receiving public matching funds. This ensures that citizens will have an opportunity to hear from candidates in forums promoting substantive discussion of major issues. This legislation became necessary after the 1993 elections, when the two leading mayoral candidates, both of whom received public matching funds, failed to debate because they could not agree on terms.

In this year’s citywide elections, over $6.9 million in public matching funds is disbursed to 85 candidates. The CFB makes its first foray into cyberspace when the agency’s website goes into operation in July, providing instantaneous access to campaign finance disclosure and other candidate information.

Significant changes to the Campaign Finance Program are made through legislation and a citywide referendum. Taken together, these include a reduction of the contribution limits, a ban on corporate contributions and a change in the public matching funds rate from $1-to-$1 for the first $1,000 per contributor to $4-to-$1 for the first $250.

With term limits creating an unprecedented number of open seats, an historic number of candidates join the Program for this year’s citywide elections to take advantage of the new, more generous matching rate. The CFB distributes over $42 million in public matching funds to 199 participants. The attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11 force a postponement of the primary elections and displace CFB employees from their downtown office. Despite working from a temporary office at Fordham University, the CFB manages to respond successfully to the needs of hundreds of first-time candidates. The Board also adds a fully searchable database to their website, allowing members of the public and press to view and sort data on campaign fundraising and spending from the current and previous election cycles.

New legislation expands the CFB disclosure requirements to all candidates. For the following election, both Program participants and non-participants will be required to disclose all financial activity to the CFB. All candidates must also adhere to the CFB’s contribution limits and ban on corporate contributions. The new law creates a category called “limited participant” for candidates who wish to participate in the Program, but fund their campaigns with personal money.

The CFB pays over $24 million in public matching funds to 108 participants during this year’s citywide elections. The CFB makes significant changes to the Voter Guide, making it more accessible and easier to read. CFB debates are broadcast in Spanish, Chinese, and Korean for the first time. Also, new legislation changes the CFB’s “single source” policy for determining whether contributions from affiliated unions should be aggregated for purposes of contribution limits.

New legislation establishes that contributions from lobbyists, their spouses and domestic partners, are no longer eligible to be matched with public funds.

New legislation severely restricts contributions from people who do business with the city. The new law changes the matching rate on contributions from $4-to-$1 up to the first $250 per contribution to $6-to-$1 up to the first $175, providing further incentive for candidates to focus their attention on citizens of modest means. The legislation also prohibits contributions from LLCs and partnerships. While the CFB has long audited all campaigns to ensure their compliance with the Campaign Finance Act, the legislation imposes time limits on CFB audits for the first time.