Good morning. It’s Monday. Today we’ll look at some of the biggest donors to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s mayoral campaign.
When former Gov. Andrew Cuomo entered the New York City mayor’s race, there were questions about whether the scandal-scarred leader would be able to win back the support he lost when he resigned amid allegations that he had sexually harassed 11 women. (He denies the accusations.)
Three months in, the answer is clear.
Cuomo, who is leading in the polls, has racked up endorsements from the chairs of the Brooklyn and Queens Democratic Parties. He has been embraced by Black churches, showing up on many Sundays to address the faithful. And he has raised a fortune from labor and business groups.
But perhaps his greatest asset is one that is technically not associated with his campaign: a super PAC called Fix the City, which has raised an eye-popping $10 million to support his candidacy.
My colleague Nicholas Fandos dug into the donors to this group, which is already the single largest outside spending force in the race.
A very big loophole
New York City has made efforts to clamp down on the influence of money in politics, instituting a system that offers candidates a chance at matching funds if they agree to strict limits on how much they can accept from individuals and those with business before the city.
But the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010 created a very large loophole: Groups like Fix the City could raise and spend unlimited sums to support their preferred candidates so long as the groups did not coordinate with campaigns directly.
As Nick writes, “In Mr. Cuomo’s case, though, Fix the City can be hard to distinguish from his official campaign. It is run by Steven M. Cohen, a member of Mr. Cuomo’s inner circle for decades, and its messaging closely mirrors that of the official campaign.”
Indeed, the New York City Campaign Finance Board found that the Cuomo campaign and super PAC were most likely colluding, and punished Cuomo by withholding nearly $1.3 million in matching funds. Cuomo has appealed the decision.
The Big Money candidate
From a real estate investment trust seeking to build office towers in Midtown Manhattan: $150,000. From a government contractor vying to redevelop Penn Station: $250,000. From a food delivery service lobbying City Hall: $1 million.
“As of last week, Fix the City had collected 38 contributions of $100,000 or more, including from individuals and companies who contract with the city,” Nick reported.
Of these, at least 16 came from individuals Forbes magazine identified as billionaires.
During his years as governor, Cuomo’s administration was dogged by allegations of pay-to-play. But a campaign spokesman said that none of these donations would have any influence on Cuomo if he were elected mayor.
Some in the business and real estate communities have flocked to Cuomo, a moderate, for fear of his closest rival, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani. He’s a Democratic Socialist whose platform includes freezing rent and raising taxes on the wealthy to pay for a smorgasbord of programs, including free buses and city-run grocery stores.
A spokeswoman for the pro-Cuomo super PAC, Liz Benjamin, said that “donors have supported Fix the City because they know that Andrew Cuomo has the right experience and the right plans for New York City.”
Donald Trump, R.F.K. Jr., Andrew Cuomo?
During the pandemic, Cuomo earned national acclaim as a foil to President Trump. That fight has been rekindled after Trump’s Justice Department announced it would criminally investigate the handling of nursing homes by Cuomo during the pandemic and his subsequent testimony before Congress.
But even as those tensions rage, Fix the City has collected hefty donations from individuals who have allied themselves with the president, including the hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and Kenneth Langone, the founder of Home Depot.
Nick also reports that the super PAC is expecting another $250,000 today from Mark Gorton, a wealthy investor and conspiracy theorist who founded Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential super PAC.
Weather
Expect a sunny sky with a high near 75 degrees. Tonight will be mostly clear, with a low near 58.
ALTERNATE-SIDE PARKING
Rules are in effect until Tuesday (Shavuot).
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METROPOLITAN diary
No seats
Dear Diary:
Seventy-five years old and late for an appointment at N.Y.U., I hopped onto a downtown Q train headed for Times Square.
The residual pain from a recent left knee replacement kicked in, as I stood in the packed train car.
Dozens of young people sat squeezed in together staring at their phones, while I hung onto a slightly sticky pole regretting that I had not worn gloves. No one saw fit to stand up and give me their seat.
I stared at a young woman wearing a red hoodie who was taking up two orange plastic seats, thinking that she should stand or at least make room for me.
I know I should have just asked her to move. But she never looked up, and I did not want to be remembered as the woman who made a scene on the downtown Q.
Instead, I started muttering to myself about young people and their complete disrespect for their elders. Shaking my head, I realized that a man next to me, hanging onto the same sticky pole, was looking at me.
“Lady,” he said, “you agitated?”
I looked up with a start and told him what I thought about none of the young people giving me their seat.
He laughed.
“Hey,” he said, “you look amazing.”
“Great hair!” he added.
I stared at him.
“If you looked all old and bent over, somebody would stand up,” he said. “Take your compliments where you can get ’em.”
When the train jolted to a stop at Times Square, I bounded off feeling young and spunky.
— Lesley Grand
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here.
Glad we could get together here. We’ll see you tomorrow. — G.A.
P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here.
Hannah Fidelman and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at [email protected].
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Grace Ashford covers New York government and politics for The Times.
The post The Billionaires and Interest Groups Backing Cuomo appeared first on New York Times.
