Party got $, gov got nod
ALBANY — Gov. Cuomo headlined a big-money fund-raiser for the state Independence Party the same day it was announced the group was endorsing his re-election, the Daily News has learned.
A source with ties to the Independence Party said Cuomo, a Democrat, organized the event, which was held Thursday evening at the Capital Grille in Manhattan. Tickets went for a minimum of $1,000.
Another source said the fund-raiser brought in tens of thousands of dollars of needed cash for the minor party.
Government reform groups and political insiders questioned the timing.
While it's not uncommon for politicians to headline fund-raisers for parties that back them, it is unusual to see it the same day an endorsement is announced, they say.
“It stinks like quid pro quo,” said state GOP spokeswoman Jessica Proud. “You're not permitted to receive anything in exchange for a ballot line. It certainly raises eyebrows.”
Blair Horner, of the New York Public Interest Research Group, said to him it’s clear Cuomo and the Independence Party had a deal in place for a while “because you just don’t set up a fund-raiser at a moment’s notice.”
“New York’s system is amazing on a lot of levels,” Horner said. “The whole system cries out for change.”
Laura Ladd Bierman, executive director of the state League of Women Voters, said the fact the fund-raiser Cuomo headlined for the Independence Party was the same day of the endorsement “sounds very unusual and suspect to me.”
“It’s an example of why we think we need campaign finance reform,” Bierman said.
State Independence Party Chairman Frank MacKay couldn't be reached for comment.
Cuomo campaign chairman Bill Mulrow said, “The Independence Party has always been with the governor.”
“This is just the Republicans crying over spilled milk. They lost we won,” Mulrow said.
In New York, parties can cross-endorse candidates. The early endorsement of Cuomo by the Independence Party was seen as a message to the Republicans, particularly Harry Wilson, a wealthy businessman said to be in the final stages of deciding whether to enter the race. Wilson was backed by the Independence Party and received 152,000 votes on the line during his unsuccessful run for state controller in 2010.
So far, Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb is the only Republican who has formally announced he is running for governor.
Horner called the early endorsement “a shrewd political move by the governor.”
“It’s clearly a win-win for both of them,” he said of Cuomo and the party.