A lefty New York City council member’s chief of staff was hit with a hefty fine from the conflict of interest board after encouraging subordinates to donate to his boss’s campaign.
The board found that in January, Edward Cerna — chief of staff to DSA and Working Families party council member Alexa Avilés — texted seven of his colleagues to donate to Avilés’s reelection bid.
The message to subordinate co-workers expressly broke donation rules, the Conflicts of Interest Board found — and resulted in four of the seven recipients giving $200 to the DSA member’s campaign.
“Through his conduct, the Chief of Staff violated the conflicts of interest law’s prohibition against public servants asking their subordinates to donate to a political campaign,” the COIB wrote in a press release.
Cerna, who has worked for Avilés since 2022, had sent the text claiming it was “an out of office message.”
“As many of you now know, our principal is facing an actual challenger and so tonight is a very important financial filing deadline so if you can and this is totally OPTIONAL, consider making a donation to the reelection campaign. Appreciate y’all and happy Saturday,” the message read followed by a link to the donation landing page.
Avilés — a Zohran Mamdani supporter representing southern Brooklyn’s district 38 — fended off a primary challenge from Ling Ye, who grabbed 28% of the vote.
Cerna acknowledged in the COIB disposition that he violated City Charter section 2604, which states, “No public servant shall, directly or indirectly, compel, induce, or request any subordinate public servant to pay any political assessment, subscription, or contribution.”
As a result of the financial mishap — Cerna will pay $2,250 to the COIB and maintain his position as Avilés’s chief of staff.
Cerna and Avilés did not respond to the Post’s request for comment.