New York

New York City Council to introduce bill targeting Andy King comeback

The legislation would add a clause to city rules that determine eligibility for the public matching program.

Andy King speaks into microphones at a news conference flanked by a police officer

NEW YORK — A City Council bill being introduced Thursday would bar any candidate previously expelled from the body from receiving campaign cash through the city’s public matching funds program. As it happens, there is just such a candidate looking to run in this year’s primary.

Former Bronx Council Member Andy King was booted from the body in 2020 after an internal investigation found he had harassed staffers and ignored punishments for previous infractions the body had laid out. The former lawmaker, who denied the charges and sued over the expulsion, is mounting an effort to retake his Bronx seat in the June primary.

Current members of the body are looking to make it harder for him.

“When someone has been expelled from the City Council for sexual harassment, abuse of staff and misuse of public funds, they shouldn’t be subsidized by our taxpayer dollars to run again for city council,” Council Member Lincoln Restler, the lead sponsor of the bill, said in an interview.

Restler said that the legislation would apply to anyone expelled from the Council — though only King has been removed since the local government was reorganized in the 1989 Charter revision.

“It is deeply troubling to me that Andy King is trying to come back to city government after his terrible treatment of staff, his misuse of funds and his complete lack of interest in rehabilitating himself and making up for his wrongdoings,” Restler said. “He does not belong in public office, period.”

The legislation would add a clause to city rules that determine eligibility for the public program, which matches contributions for Council candidates of up to $175 from New York City residents 8 to 1 — a lucrative funding boost that allowed a historic number of first-time candidates to run for office in 2021.

Losing out on that flow of cash would make running more difficult from King, who said in an interview that the Council should only be considering legislation that improves the lives of voters and not pushing bills because of politics.

“At the end of the day, you want to make sure you are putting legislation forth because there is a flaw in the system,” he said. “Not because there is an emotional response.”

While King was removed from office, he still maintains a loyal following in the district. Even without generous public matching dollars, he could opt out of the system and accept larger donations.

So far, however, his Council bidis not going well. On Wednesday, a state appellate court ruled that King cannot appear on the ballot in this year’s Democratic primary because of term limits.

He could, however, run in 2025. Meaning the legislation, if passed, would affect any future run.

“If you’ve been expelled from the Council for sexual harassment and workplace abuse, you have no right to use our public funds to finance a vanity campaign to return,” Council Member Shahana Hanif, a co-sponsor of the legislation along with colleagues Nantasha Williams and Althea Stevens, said in a statement.