Pol: Pay up, period!
State dem sees red over nixed tampon purchase
ALBANY – Upstate Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney is fuming over tampons.
Maloney, a Hudson Valley Democrat who's running for state attorney general, took to Twitter Thursday and Friday to blast House leaders for refusing to pay his office's $37.16 purchase of tampons, which he claimed would be kept on hand for female staff members and visitors to use if needed.
In a series of tweets, Maloney said the House Administration Committee had “smacked down” his office's purchase request and then lied about the entire matter when it became public.
“I think they should stop lying about it and take responsibility for this stupid policy, which is outdated and sexist, and correct it,” Maloney said in a video posted on Twitter.
Maloney also did a “dramatic reading” from what he claimed was an email from a House staffer saying “tampons are not an office supply but a personal item.”
Erin McCracken, a spokeswoman for the House Administration Committee, did not deny that the purchase was blocked but complained that Maloney never contacted the committee staff to provide better context for the purchase and why it was needed. If he had done so, she added, the purchase would likely have been approved.
“In this case, the committee was not consulted or contacted by Rep. Maloney's Office to express their concerns,” McCracken said. “Again, it is absolutely permissible to purchase necessary health and safety products to have in the office, especially in case of an emergency. We wish Rep. Maloney's Office would have reached out to the Committee before issuing their statement, but unfortunately, they did not.”
Maloney, a former aide to President Bill Clinton and disgraced ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, is running for the Democratic Party's nomination for attorney general against three female contenders.
New York City Public Advocate Letitia James won the Democratic Party's designation by winning 85% of the delegate vote at the convention in May.
Fordham Law Prof. Zephyr Teachout and Leecia Eve, a former aide to both Gov. former Cuomo and Hillary Clinton, are also circulating petitions to get on the ballot.
All jumped into the race after former AG Eric Schneiderman resigned after a New Yorker report that he was abusive.
Maloney's feud with House leaders comes as a new state law goes into effect Sunday requiring free feminine hygiene products be provided in the bathrooms of all public schools that serve grades six through 12.
“Just like you have free toilet paper in bathrooms, you should have free feminine hygiene products,” said Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal (D-Manhattan) who sponsored the bill that was signed by Cuomo in April.