Bill de Blasio ordered to repay New York City funds used for presidential campaign
Asher Notheis
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Former presidential candidate and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has been ordered to pay the Big Apple approximately $475,000.
The total sum of money de Blasio owes comes from the $319,794.20 he must reimburse the city for travel expenses used for his presidential campaign in the 2020 election, as well as a $155,000 fine for bringing his security detail on trips made for his campaign. New York City’s Conflicts of Interest Board ordered the payment on Thursday; the board had previously told de Blasio that paying for officers’ travel costs would be a “misuse of city resources,” according to the New York Times.
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The former mayor failed to take the board’s advice, according to the board. The $319,794.20 used in travel-related costs was used for members of the mayor’s security detail to accompany either him or his wife, Chirlane McCray, on campaign trips out of state. In total, 31 out-of-state trips were taken using these funds.
In addition to the nearly $320,000, de Blasio has also been ordered by the board to pay $5,000 for each out-of-state trip he took. The former mayor’s presidential campaign reported only having $1,422.76 in its last filing with the Federal Election Commission in December 2020, but a political action committee associated with de Blasio reported in its most recent update having more than $32,000 in debt and less than $3,000 on hand.
The former mayor’s presidential bid was short-lived. It lasted for four months in 2019. In a new interview with New York Magazine, the former mayor expressed regret for having run for the White House.
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“It was a mistake,” de Blasio said. “I think my values were the right values, and I think I had something to offer, but it was not right on a variety of levels.”
The former mayor served New York City from 2014 through 2021, and he was succeeded by Mayor Eric Adams. Since his time as mayor, de Blasio ran briefly for a congressional seat in New York, and he has become a visiting teaching fellow at Harvard University. He is also teaching a class at New York University.