Cuo scandal vestige
Hochul to keep Andy adviser
Gov. Hochul has retained a pollster-strategist for her re-election campaign who served as a secret adviser helping disgraced former Gov. Andrew Cuomo fight sex-harassment accusations earlier this year, The Post has learned.
A spokesperson for the Hochul campaign confirmed that Jefrey Pollock and his Global Strategy Group is working on her campaign and has advised her since her first run for Congress in 2011.
Pollock had been the chief pollster for Cuomo’s campaigns, which paid the Global Strategy Group, where he serves as president, more than $700,000 for services since 2017, state Board of Elections records show.
Pollock’s name pops up in more than 100 internal e-mails and text messages with other Cuomo staffers and advisers as sexual harassment claims mounted against Cuomo, according to a review of documents recently dumped by state Attorney General Letitia James’ office as part of her probe into the exiled former governor.
Pollock served as part of the Cuomo “rapid response” team, according to the texts.
He dealt with Andrew Cuomo, exCNN broadcaster brother Chris Cuomo and the disgraced ex-governor’s brain trust, including top aide Melissa DeRosa, communications director Peter Ajemian, special adviser Rich Azzopardi, political adviser Lis Smith and lawyers Beth Garvey and Linda Lacewell.
Pollock participated in an Albany prepping session with the then-governor and other staff before a March 3 press conference to discuss the harassment claims.
“Excellent way to go MDR,” Pollock texted in real time when DeRosa praised the administration’s work to expand women’s rights and urged people to defer judgment on accusations against Cuomo until the AG’s investigation was completed.
Sitting next to Cuomo, DeRosa responded to a question about his alleged misdeeds. “Spin is getting back to work,” Pollock later said, echoing DeRosa.
Pollock offered encouragement in responding to accuser Lindsey Boylan and in one exchange expressed support at the suggestion of forwarding Boylan’s tweets from 2018 praising Cuomo to New Yorker writer Ronan Farrow.
Boylan slammed Hochul for retaining Pollock as her campaign pollster-strategist.
“Jefrey Pollock was an integral part of the team that helped smear me and other women who came forward,” Boylan told The Post. “Someone who has exhibited such poor ethics should not be rewarded by our new governor.”
Advocates for harassment victims also rapped Hochul for including Pollock on her campaign team.
“I don’t believe Gov. Hochul should retain anyone who helped Cuomo try to circumvent accountability,” said Erica Vladimer of the Sexual Harassment Working Group.
A source tied to the Hochul campaign said the new governor promised to fire anyone who was named in the attorney general’s report and who had behaved unethically.
“Jef is named but there is no evidence of unethical behavior,” the source said.
The source also said Pollock severed ties with Cuomo after James’ investigative report found Cuomo mistreated or harassed a slew of women, triggering his resignation under the threat of impeachment. The three-term Democrat denied wrongdoing as he exited.
Pollock declined requests for comment.
Other former Cuomo staffers who worked at private sector firms lost or quit their jobs after it was revealed they helped the ex-governor smear his accusers.
The Global Strategy Group Web site boasts of serving as campaign aide to Hochul, James and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. Cuomo’s name is conspicuously absent.