Former Mayor De Blasio Ordered To Repay NYC Almost $500K

Facts

• New York City’s Conflicts of Interest Board (COIB) said Thursday former Mayor Bill de Blasio must repay the city nearly $500K for using city funds to pay for security during his failed 2019 presidential campaign after ruling he violated conflict-of-interest laws.¹
• De Blasio, whose two terms as mayor ended in 2021, used city funds to pay members of the NYPD, racking up more than $319K in travel costs. The board also fined him $155K for misusing resources and disregarding the board’s advice.²
• De Blasio started his bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination in May 2019 and used city funds to pay for his security detail on 31 out-of-state trips. He ended his campaign in September 2019 after failing to reach 1% in the polls.³
• The record-breaking fine from the COIB was levied not long after a report from the Department of Investigation found De Blasio misused security details even when he was in New York, sending personnel on errands and using them to transport friends and family.⁴
• De Blasio — who has 30 days to pay the penalty — is appealing the COIB decision.⁵

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²Bloomberg, ³The Hill, ⁴CBS, and ⁵Daily Mail.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by New York Times. De Blasio is rightfully being held accountable. His term as mayor was littered with ethics questions and investigations, as he continually pushed the limits of his fund-raising methods into murky territory. He blatantly disregarded the board’s advice in this case, and his punishment should be a lesson to him and all politicians.
• Narrative B, as provided by Gothamist. This discipline doesn’t teach politicians a lesson; it recklessly and arbitrarily discourages them from taking necessary safety precautions and adhering to security guidance from law enforcement. Elected officials are the target of an unprecedented number of threats of violence in our hyper-partisan times, and they shouldn’t be discouraged from spending what’s necessary on protection.