DOI: De Blasio sought donations from people with city business in violation of ethics board instructions

Mayor Bill de Blasio personally contacted people doing business with his administration in search of political donations, in violation of instructions from a city ethics board, according to the results of an investigation concluded last year and made public Wednesday.

Between June and the fall of 2015, as he was gearing up to push a controversial affordable housing policy, de Blasio called on real estate developers and others who were seeking approvals and permits from city agencies. He wanted something too: money for an entity he set up upon taking office that would help promote his agenda, according to a city Department of Investigation [DOI] report first made public by THE CITY.

The fundraising organization, Campaign for One New York, took in about $4 million before it was dissolved in 2016. It was the subject of a subsequent federal probe that did not yield any arrests. POLITICO reported in 2015 that most donors had business before the city, and some were successful in their endeavors.

De Blasio’s personal role in soliciting that money was clarified in the DOI report, which is dated Oct. 22, 2018.

During those months of fundraising, de Blasio “walked around the block as he called potential donors on his cell phone,” the report states. He called six to 10 donors a week, but only when his schedule was not too busy with government affairs.

According to DOI, which interviewed “dozens” of people over the course of two years, the mayor said he would make the case for donating to Campaign for One New York before having a designated fundraiser follow up.

“Mayor de Blasio stated that he did not recall telling any potential donors that their decision to give or not give would not impact their current or future city business,” according to the report.

Investigators spoke with four real estate executives the mayor contacted — three of whom “had some sort of business or potential business pending before an executive branch office or agency at the time of the solicitation,” the report said.

Before the mayor established the Campaign for One New York, he sought guidance from the city’s ethics board, which said he could solicit donations personally, but not from anyone with matters pending or about to be pending before his administration.

The report’s recommendations are redacted, as are many names and details included in it.

De Blasio is currently raising money for a federal political action committee ahead of a likely run for president. He is also planning to solicit money to pay off about $300,000 in legal fees related to a probe into his prior fundraising practices.

“These questions are asked and answered,” his spokesperson said in response to the DOI report. “Fundraising for the now-defunct Campaign for One New York was thoroughly reviewed by multiple parties and it was determined that there was no wrongdoing. It’s been said a million times: the mayor acted lawfully and ethically.”

Article originally published on POLITICO Magazine

Source: https://www.politico.com/states/new-york/city-hall/story/2019/04/17/doi-de-blasio-sought-donations-from-people-with-city-business-in-violation-of-ethics-board-instructions-978073
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The Article Was Written/Published By: sgoldenberg@politico.com (Sally Goldenberg)

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