Citizens Union Calls on the City Council to Act after Conflicts Board Declines to Crack Down on Unlawful Government-Funded Electioneering
New York, NY (March 26, 2026) – Citizens Union today released the following statement from Executive Director Grace Rauh in response to the Conflicts of Interest Board’s decision to deny a petition by good government groups to issue rules preventing government-funded electioneering for ballot proposals:
“We are disappointed that the Conflicts of Interest Board declined to crack down on unlawful government-funded electioneering for ballot proposals, despite calls from good government groups to put clear rules in place.
“In recent years, we’ve seen how weak enforcement of the City Charter allows public officials to spend millions of taxpayer dollars on referenda campaigns without any consequences.
“As the Board itself acknowledged this week, there is an enforcement gap, but it declined to take any steps to close it. Instead, the Board said the City Charter must be amended, which means it is up to the City Council to act.
“We encourage the City Council to advance appropriate legislation to address this misuse of government resources and look forward to working with them to ensure public dollars aren’t spent on illegal electioneering.”