The playing field may not be level when disgraced Assemblyman Vito Lopez makes his audacious move for a City Council seat.
Like everyone running for the council, Lopez will be able to claim as much as $92,000 in public matching funds from the Campaign Finance Board even as he’s being booted from Albany for a series of repulsive actions toward female staffers.
And like all council candidates in the matching-funds program, Lopez would have to abide by a spending limit of $168,000.
A large portion of the political establishment is lining up against the pervy pol in support of Antonio Reynoso, an aide to Councilwoman Diana Reyna who is making his first run for public office.
So many influential people are so disgusted with Gropez’s behavior that the young political novice is getting considerable support and figures to be a formidable contender, even in a multi-candidate field.
As of last week, Reynoso had raised $86,764 to Lopez’s $38,390.
But Lopez has a financial ace up his sleeve. When he was chairman of the Assembly’s Housing Committee, developers and others angling for favors flooded his state campaign account with hefty donations.
As of January, more than $1 million was left.
Under the rules, state contributions that meet the city’s $2,750 maximum limit could be transferred into Lopez’s council campaign account.
If he opts for the transfer, Lopez would have to give up public matching funds. But the spending cap would be lifted as well.
That raises the possibility that Lopez would have hundreds of thousands of dollars at his command to go up against opponents in a relatively poor Brooklyn district where it’s not easy to raise that kind of campaign cash.
The deadline for a decision is June 10.
“If I were him, I’d do whatever gives me the most money,” advised one political consultant.
With his political life on the line, it’s an option Lopez can’t overlook.
A review of campaign filings shows he rounded up 311 contributions for his council run, including a large number from within the district, which covers Bushwick and parts of Williamsburg in Brooklyn and Ridgewood in Queens.
A dozen came from the government-funded Ridgewood Bushwick social-services agency, which Lopez founded and where he now claims to no longer have a role.
Incredible as it might seem, the poster boy for disreputable politics remains the guy to beat in this distressing race.