GOP leaders want another shot at matching funds for Blakeman

ALBANY — The two top Republican state legislators proposed a new bill Monday that would give GOP candidate for governor Bruce Blakeman a do-over to apply for public matching funds.

The measure would compel the Public Campaign Finance Board to essentially accept an amended application from Blakeman, the Nassau County executive, and his running mate, Madison County Sheriff Todd Hood, to correct a filing error that led to a March 31 vote by the board declaring Blakeman ineligible.

Senate Minority Leader Rob Ortt, of Niagara County, and Assembly Minority Leader Edward Ra (R-Garden City South) said Blakeman shouldn’t be disqualified because of what they view as a paperwork error.

"The decision by the PCFB was clearly flawed and we are putting forward a common-sense solution to fix this issue," Ortt said at a state Capitol news conference.

Up to $3.5 million in public matching funds for Blakeman is riding on the outcome — funds that could prove crucial is his bid to unseat Gov. Kathy Hochul, a Democrat.

In a nutshell, the board said it received an application from Blakeman when, per a new state law, it should have received a "joint certification" application from Blakeman and Hood. The board said Republicans were aware of the issue and that Blakeman failed to correct the problem by an early March deadline.

Hochul, with more than $20 million in campaign funds stockpiled, isn’t participating in the matching funds program, which is available in 2026 for the first time to gubernatorial candidates.

Blakeman already has sued the PCFB, seeking to undo the decision and claiming he complied with the spirit of the law.

Separately, the Ortt-Ra legislation would create a seven-day window for Blakeman to refile. The chances of a Democrat-led legislature backing the bill are slim, Ortt acknowledged, but Republicans are trying to keep the issue alive.

Mike Murphy, spokesman for the Democratic Senate conference, noted the juxtaposition of Republicans opposing the creation of public matching funds in the first place but fighting to obtain them.

"For a conference that wholeheartedly opposed public campaign financing, it’s pretty funny," Murphy said. "But we’ll look at the bill."

By Yancey Roy

yancey.roy@newsday.com@yanceyroy