Comptroller John Liu intends to file a claim for $3.5 million in taxpayer matching funds for his federally-investigated mayoral campaign — the most anyone can get, aides said late yesterday.
Liu took in a measly $104,231 in contributions over the last two months, less than half the $225,209 he spent in that period.
But that won’t matter much if the Campaign Finance Board certifies that $605,516 of the $3.3 million Liu has raised to date is eligible for the generous 6-to-1 match that all candidates running for city offices are entitled to claim.
Marty Connor, Liu’s election lawyer, insisted the campaign has followed all the rules and deserves the money. “We have all our documentation in place supporting our matching-funds claims,” Connor said.
It’s far from clear what the Finance Board will do.
Liu’s former campaign treasurer, Jenny Hou, and a campaign contributor, Oliver Pan, have both been convicted on federal charges related to their attempts to swindle the system.
Liu himself hasn’t been charged and has repeatedly accused prosecutors of trying to taint him through “innuendo and his rivals all outpaced him in fund-raising.