Pouring in
Donations to the campaign account for Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul from developers, attorneys, health executives are picking up.
After a report by the state attorney general’s office containing allegations of sexual harassment against Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, donations to the campaign account for Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul began picking up.
In the week following the release of the report on Aug. 3, which came seven days before Cuomo’s abrupt resignation announcement, Hochul pulled in $63,000, according to recently released campaign finance data. Hochul, according to her campaign, formally filed to run for governor on Saturday. By updating her account on Aug. 13, the day prior to filing for governor, she also effectively closed out her lieutenant governor account.
“Lt. Gov. Hochul has been elected statewide twice, and that takes a diverse coalition of supporters,” Meredith Kelly, a Hochul adviser, said in a statement. “She has filed for governor and her supporters continue to get behind her vision for the state of New York.”
Many of the donations have been $1,000 contributions. The donors include well-known builders, developers, attorneys and health care executives. Some have ties to Buffalo, others to New York City and the Hamptons on Long Island.
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers of New York contributed $5,000, noting an initial shift in the union support that once was in lockstep with Cuomo. I.B.E.W. officials did not respond to requests for comment. The union’s umbrella organization, AFL-CIO, had called for Cuomo’s resignation.
Friends of India Walton, the campaign account for the socialist Democratic nominee for mayor in Buffalo, donated $250 to Hochul. It was the first time her campaign donated to any politician. She faces a write-in campaign from the Democratic stalwart, Mayor Byron Brown.
The donations also came from people with deep ties to the Cuomo family.
David N. Weinraub was senior staff for Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, serving as his director of legislative and intergovernmental affairs. He also served as counsel to then-lt. Gov. Stan Lundine. Weinraub donated $5,000 to Hochul, someone he has followed, known and contributed to for years.
“Obviously, by August it was a different scenario,” Weinraub, an Albany-based attorney, said. He spoke with her fundraiser and said he figured she could use some quick spending money.
Weinraub, given his deep ties to the Cuomo family, has long supported Andrew Cuomo, “financially and any other way I could.” He said from that lens, it’s “terribly sad.”
“But sincerely, I hope that something good comes out of this for women in the workplace,” Weinraub said.
He noted that other contributors to Hochul in the period of political tumult in Albany the last two weeks likely “saw the writing on the wall” and pivoted to her.
Lundine, the lieutenant governor to the elder Cuomo, donated $1,000 last week. He said he’s known Hochul since she was an aide to U.S. Rep. John Lafalce, shortly after she finished law school. He remembers playing softball with Hochul, a former congresswoman, on the National Mall. Lundine is pulling for Hochul for governor now, but recognizes mixed emotions in the moment.
“I know the Cuomo family very well. I have followed this administration quite closely. I felt that Andrew was a very effective governor for most of his terms, but this is a sad situation,” Lundine said. He’s “very excited” for Hochul’s attempt to serve a full term for governor. The Democratic primary is scheduled for June, when Hochul would be in the midst of serving out the remaining year of Cuomo’s third term as governor.
Emily Giske, an attorney who helped to pass the Marriage Equality Act — one of Cuomo’s top accomplishments, from 2011 — gave $1,500. Giske works at Bolton-st. Johns, a public relations and government affairs firm, led by Giorgio Derosa, the father of one of Cuomo’s top advisors, Melissa Derosa.
Others who contributed to Hochul in the wake of the report from Attorney General Letitia James, who has been floated by others as a potential candidate for governor, are well-known figures in Buffalo: developer Rocco Termini gave $5,000; Jim Sandoro, co-founder of the Buffalo Transportation Pierce-arrow Museum gave $5,000; Anne Mccaffrey, president and CEO of Eastern Niagara Hospital, and the former mayor of Lockport, gave $2,500; David P. Hart, CEO of Hart Hotels of Buffalo, gave $2,500; William C. Bernhardi, a Buffalo attorney, gave $2,500; Mark Sullivan, president and CEO of Catholic Health, gave $1,000; Kathleen M. Sweet, former President Barack Obama nominee for federal judgeship, donated $500. Contributors in New York City and Long Island include $2,500 from Lisa Rosenblum, vice chairman of Altice USA and former counsel to Gov. Hugh L. Carey; Martin Scheinman, an East Hampton mediator, gave $1,000; and Stuart Suna, chairman of Hamptons International Film Festival, gave $1,000.