#NYC lawmaker accuses rival of fudging campaign finance report

A Manhattan lawmaker is accused by one of his City Council colleagues of purposely under-reporting roughly $500,000 in campaign expenses from his bid to become borough president.

Councilman Ben Kallos filed a complaint with the city’s Campaign Finance Board demanding it investigate Councilman Mark Levine’s campaign filings, alleging his political rival “willfully omitted” money spent on political signs and other printed expenditures. 

Both Manhattan pols are running in the June 22 Democratic primary to replace incumbent Borough President Gale Brewer, whose final term as Beep expires at the end of the year. Each has a political war chest which rely heavily on money amassed via the city’s public matching funds program.

With primary day only a few weeks away, Levine documented spending a mere $706 on election mailers and failed to list any spending for signs, placards, palm cards, stickers and other campaign materials in his last campaign finance filing, submitted May 17.  

“You can’t even get a piece of mail designed for $706, let alone get it printed,” Kallos told The Post. “This makes me wonder what else he’s hiding.”

The complaint, filed Tuesday, doesn’t specify how much Kallos believes Levine failed to report, but Kallos estimates it’s about $500,000.

Kallos provided the campaign finance board with images and links from Twitter posts dated weeks before the May 17 filing that appear to show Levine and his supporters holding up glossy, printed campaign materials, including palm cards and placards

Levine as of May 17 reported raising nearly $1.7 million – including nearly $1.1 million through the public matching funding program – and had nearly $1.2 million on hand. Kallos raised nearly $1.4 million in private and public funds and had $532,913 in his war chest.

The Campaign Finance Board said it doesn’t comment on complaints, but its standard penalty for reporting expenditures late is 1% of such expenditures.

Levine’s campaign spokesperson Ilana Maier said Kallos’ complaint is “nonsense,” adding “our campaign filings are in compliance with CFB rules and laws.”