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Politico
5 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Cuomo returned 60 sketchy donations
With help from Amira McKee Andrew Cuomo's mayoral campaign immediately flagged and refunded a tranche of apparent straw donations in March — and now there's a 'law enforcement investigation' related to his campaign, according to official documents. On March 30, the Cuomo campaign reported receiving 57 separate donations from people with Chinese names who listed their occupation as 'unemployed.' Every donation came from the ZIP code 11354 in Flushing, Queens, and all the contributions came in multiples of 10, between $10 and $60. The contributions were, to put it bluntly, extremely sketchy, and carried some hallmarks of straw donations — an illegal practice where campaign contributions are made in another person's name. The campaign refunded every one of them the next day, plus three more similar contributions from people who listed their occupation as 'venerable' and shared the address of the Western Buddhist Association, a temple in Borough Park, Brooklyn. In total, the campaign gave up just $1,280, though it could have garnered up to $10,240 more in public funds if the donations were matched. One of the refunded contributions was from Chang Kuan of the Western Buddhist Association. Just three weeks after the campaign rejected the donation, Cuomo sent out a press release touting Kuan's endorsement with other faith leaders. The association didn't respond to a request for comment. It isn't clear whether those donations are under investigation. A letter from the New York City Campaign Finance Board in response to Playbook's routine Freedom of Information Law request for its communications with the Cuomo campaign suggested the existence of a probe, though. 'Some records are being withheld because they were 'compiled for law enforcement purposes and ... if disclosed, would ... interfere with law enforcement investigations....'' the letter read, quoting state law about what records are exempt from public disclosure. Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said the campaign did the right thing, and quickly. 'It appears the correspondence being withheld relates to online contributions submitted to the campaign that were immediately flagged by our internal compliance as being improper, refunded within 24 hours, and disclosed to the CFB,' Azzopardi said in a statement. 'Subsequently, we had follow up communications with the CFB about those contributions. To the extent that there is a law enforcement review, we are neither aware of nor party to it and refer you back to CFB for any further questions.' The CFB declined to comment. And the district attorneys offices for Manhattan, Queens and Brooklyn all said they couldn't confirm or deny the existence of any related investigations. The Cuomo campaign has received scrutiny for other practices unrelated to potential straw donors. The CFB withheld some public funds from the campaign while it investigated possible coordination with pro-Cuomo super PAC Fix the City. On May 30, the board said the investigation would continue. The campaign has denied wrongdoing. The Cuomo campaign's quick action is first being reported here in Playbook just days after THE CITY reported on another instance of potential straw donors to Mayor Eric Adams' 2025 campaign. Adams has been dogged by such accusations, which featured in his federal indictment that was later dropped. He has denied knowingly taking any illegal contributions and defended his compliance team Thursday. 'We follow all rules,' he said. — Jeff Coltin From the Capitol UPROAR AT HOCHUL'S REDISTRICTING FLIRTATION: Republicans are up in arms about Gov. Kathy Hochul's comments Thursday suggesting she may move to redraw New York's congressional lines in response to Trump-led efforts to redraw the maps in GOP-dominated Texas. 'New York's State Constitution could not be more clear: mid-decade redistricting is illegal,' state GOP Chair Ed Cox said in a statement. 'Kathy Hochul and Albany Democrats are again ignoring the law as they telegraph their latest attempt to rig our elections.' On Thursday, Hochul told reporters she and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will consider redrawing New York's maps after President Donald Trump's allies successfully pressed Texas Gov. Greg Abbott earlier this month to call for the state Legislature to hold a special session focused on redistricting. 'All's fair in love and war,' Hochul said during an unrelated event in Buffalo. 'We're following the rules. We do redistricting every 10 years. But if there's other states violating the rules and are trying to give themselves an advantage, all I'll say is, I'm going to look at it closely with Hakeem Jeffries.' POLITICO reported Thursday that House Minority Leader Jeffries' team already spoke with Hochul's office about redistricting earlier this month, following the Texas governor's announcement. Ed Ra, the ranking Republican member of the Assembly's Ways and Means committee, said in a statement that redrawing the maps 'would blatantly violate our State Constitution and undermine the work of the independent redistricting commission approved by New York voters.' — Jason Beeferman SENATE BUDGET MAN DEPARTS: The state Senate Democrats' top budget aide is departing. David Friedfel, who's served as the secretary to the Senate Finance Committee for the last five years, made the announcement on his LinkedIn page. 'After a wonderful five sessions serving as Secretary to the New York State Senate Finance Committee, I have decided it is time to take on a new role,' he wrote. 'I'm still trying to figure out what my next chapter will hold, so please reach out with any words of wisdom.' Friedfel is highly respected among Democratic state lawmakers; he's expected to stay on and help with the transition for his replacement. — Nick Reisman FROM THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL 'NOBODY CARES ABOUT EPSTEIN LIST': Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman — a potential Republican gubernatorial candidate next year — said Thursday that no one cares about the so-called Jeffrey Epstein list. '[Trump] is a guy who has gotten victory after victory after victory, and all they want to ask him is about these stupid Epstein lists,' Blakeman said. 'Nobody cares about the Epstein list except Democrats. Do your job. Do your job. Stop worrying about the Epstein list.' Blakeman made the remarks during an interview with conservative radio host Sid Rosenberg on an issue that — at least momentarily — has divided the MAGA movement. A Quinnipiac University national poll conducted earlier this month found 40 percent of Republicans approve of the Trump administration's handling of the so-called Jeffrey Epstein files, while 36 percent disapprove and 24 percent did not offer an opinion. Hochul and other Democrats have attempted to capitalize on the discord between Trump's MAGA base and the president over releasing information related to Epstein's child sex trafficking ring. 'While Bruce Blakeman broke his silence on the Epstein files, Elise Stefanik is too much of a coward and too busy enabling Trump's cover-up to come clean to New Yorkers about whether or not she wants the files to be released,' Addison Dick, the spokesperson for the Hochul-led state Democratic Party, said in a statement. 'As new revelations about Trump's close friendship with Epstein surface every day, Stefanik owes New Yorkers answers, not excuses.' Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, also running for governor, hasn't said much on the issue — but slammed a story from The Wall Street Journal that said Trump allegedly sent a sexually suggestive letter to Epstein wishing that every day should be 'another wonderful secret.' Trump says the letter is fake. POLITICO has not independently verified its existence. Stefanik's spokesperson also slammed Democrats last week for 'desperately creating false narratives to distract from their own policy failures' and noted that the party had little focus on the issue until recently. — Jason Beeferman ZOHRAN'S NEW CAMPAIGN SQUAD: Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani announced a slate of new hires today. Maya Handa, who ran state Sen. Zellnor Myrie's campaign for mayor, is taking over as Mamdani's campaign manager. Afua Atta-Mensah, an organizer who helped lead left-leaning groups Community Change and Community Voices Heard, is joining the campaign to serve as its senior political director. And Debra Khan, who previously advised the president of the powerful service workers union 32BJ SEIU, will become the campaign's director of labor and intergovernmental affairs. Despite Mamdani's proud democratic socialist brand, he has also hired a slate of new communications staffers whose backgrounds more reflect that of Jeffries and the Democratic establishment than the left-leaning groups who played key roles early on in his campaign. — Jason Beeferman STOP HORSING AROUND: The leader of the horse carriage drivers union is threatening to sue mayoral candidate Curtis Sliwa for claiming Transport Workers Union leadership is taking bribes. 'There is money under the table to the TWU leadership,' Sliwa said at an animal rights rally Wednesday at City Hall. 'I become mayor, the investigation begins. This industry will be closed. The men and women of the industry will have jobs with electrified carriages that exist in the rest of the world.' TWU International President John Samuelsen shot back in a statement shared with Playbook: 'As pathetic as it is, he has the right to run for NYC Mayor, but that muppety character in a low-budget Batman movie doesn't have the right to slander the leadership of TWU Local 100, and we will be bringing an immediate action against him for defamation.' Sliwa didn't immediately respond to a request for comment regarding Samuelsen's statement. — Jeff Coltin IN OTHER NEWS — SOCIALIST VS. INCUMBENT: The likely showdown between Mamdani and Adams shares stark similarities with Buffalo's 2021 mayoral race. (Gothamist) — GENERATION M: Gen Z New Yorkers voted for Mamdani in the primary election by a wide margin — now they're trying to convince their parents. (The New York Times) — SLIWA MEETS THE BIG BIZ LEADER: Sliwa left the red beret at home and met with Kathy Wylde, CEO of Partnership for New York City, to discuss his plans for the city. (New York Post) Missed this morning's New York Playbook? We forgive you. Read it here.
Politico
20-07-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Mamdani's social media savvy comes at a cost
A Democratic consultant who was granted anonymity to frankly discuss campaign strategy said running against a candidate affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America typically entails two strategies: Paint them as too extreme in an effort to limit their support to only the most loyal leftists, or attack their credibility by exposing personal wealth or some other form of privilege. The pro-Cuomo super PAC chose the former. It did not succeed. 'Fix the City's negative paid ads against Mamdani could have been more successful if there had been a viable third or fourth candidate in the race to steer anti-Cuomo votes to. But particularly in the final weeks, it was very clearly Mamdani vs. Cuomo,' the consultant said. 'This made the PAC's attacks on Mamdani less impactful, because whatever concerns voters had about him — and a lot of Mamdani voters had concerns — he still wasn't Andrew Cuomo.' Epstein, Mamdani's creative director, said the campaign was able to reach vast numbers of voters at a fraction of the cost of broadcast spots, with video shoots typically costing in the low four-figures. In the month before the primary, Mamdani's Instagram content was viewed 236 million times, with 62 percent of those viewers not previously following him. More recently, right-leaning news outfits and influencers have been picking up where Fix the City left off. A 2020 interview with The Far Left Show has spawned multiple reports in the New York Post and other outlets. In the spot, Mamdani told the hosts 'the abolition of private property' would be preferable to the current housing crisis and, when asked whether prisons are obsolete, he responded 'what purpose do they serve?' The Washington Free Beacon cited a separate 2020 interview where Mamdani says police officers shouldn't be the ones to respond to incidents where someone 'is going through domestic violence.' And Fox News reported on an old tweet that showed Mamdani directing his middle finger toward a statue of Christopher Columbus. The efficacy of the latest barrage of negative stories, however, appears limited: They are coming out during the doldrums of summer, just as Mamdani is riding high after his decisive primary win and gaining powerful institutional allies. The articles are appearing in outlets, with the exception of the New York Post, that have little sway in New York City elections. And while Mamdani's past positions have in some cases been expressed more crassly than he would want to convey them as mayor, they are not too far afield of his core ideology to alienate voters.
New York Post
27-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Drop out of the mayor's race NOW, Andrew Cuomo!
Andrew Cuomo lost big Tuesday night, but may still do New York City the huge disservice of staying on the November ballot as an independent — and so increase the chances that Zohran Mamdani becomes the next mayor. He can still legally drop out today, Friday June 27; otherwise, even if he doesn't campaign at all, he'll still draw some votes that should go to a non-Mamdani candidate who can win. Staying in would be the height of egotistical arrogance, but this is Andrew Cuomo we're talking about: As long as it serves his bitter, twisted and vengeful needs, he probably doesn't care about the consequences for the people of this city. Of course, that attitude explains his historic collapse despite a huge lead in the polls just weeks ago, and a ginormous $25 million in donations for 'independent' pro-Cuomo spending: Democratic voters are sick of him. And the same will prove true of non-Democrats if he persists: Whatever lead there might seem to be there in polling now (especially in polls pushed by consultants who'd profit if he stays in) is mere name recognition. Why would moderates and conservatives rally behind him? They know Cuomo helped inflict 'criminal justice reform' on New York, feeding crime and disorder in the city; he made it harder to get mentally ill homeless into treatment; he gave us the botched legalization of pot, soaring electric bills, tighter rent laws that slam small landlords, the subway Summer of Hell and 'congestion' tolls — not to mention his literally deadly 'leadership' during COVID. Yet he's plainly still in denial: 'I'm looking at the numbers from last night. I want to get an idea of what the general election looks like and what landscape looks like, and what the issues are, and then make the decision,' he arrogantly told The Post on Wednesday. Huh? After his tired run in the primary, Cuomo is a dead man walking even in the eyes his big-money donors, who are looking to shift their support to Mayor Eric Adams or some late-entry independent. By staying on the ballot in what's then at least a four-man race, Andrew Cuomo only makes it easier for Mamdani to sneak to victory with as little as 30% of the vote — meaning he needs only his hard-left base, plus those who'll always vote for the Democratic line and a handful more New Yorkers he can charm into his camp. Andrew Cuomo made New York less affordable, less safe and less livable: He's already proved he's the perfect foil for Mamdani. Yet — in some faint hope of somehow winning redemption and a platform he imagines could let him seek the White House — Cuomo stands poised to to help elect a democratic socialist who'd make all the city's problems even worse. For a few more hours, he can still serve the people of New York by setting aside his ego and removing his name from the November ballot. He has until 5 pm today to inform the city Board of Elections. The clock's ticking, Andrew: Let your final move in politics be doing the right thing.
Business Insider
25-06-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
The billionaires who bet big on the NYC mayoral primary — and lost
High-profile billionaires poured millions of dollars into the New York City mayoral election. On Tuesday, they lost their first battle. New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is projected to become the Democratic nominee for mayor of New York City, defeating former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo had enjoyed the support of big names in business and finance as he sought to fend off Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who has proposed a rent freeze and higher taxes on the city's wealthiest residents. Most of them donated to Fix the City, an outside nonprofit group that spent money on pro-Cuomo and anti-Mamdani ads. The group has reported receiving nearly $25 million in contributions. $8.3 million of that sum came from Michael Bloomberg, himself a former NYC mayor and the billionaire owner of Bloomberg LP. "I also know his strengths as a leader and manager," Bloomberg said in a statement endorsing Cuomo. "Of all the candidates, Andrew has the skills our city needs to lead us forward." Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman and William Lauder, the executive chairman of The Estée Lauder Companies, each gave $500,000 to the group. In the days leading up to the primary, Ackman wrote or reshared multiple posts on X that were critical of Mamdani. Media mogul Barry Diller, Netflix chairman Reed Hastings, and billionaire hedge fund manager Daniel Loeb each donated $250,000. Alice Walton, a billionaire philanthropist from the family that founded Walmart, contributed $100,000. Citadel CEO Ken Griffin gave $50,000 to Sensible City, a separate anti-Mamdani group. Several of those same billionaires — including Ackman, Loeb, and Griffin — supported President Donald Trump's 2024 campaign, a fact that Mamdani frequently emphasized on the campaign trail. As of Wednesday, Mamdani leads with 43.5% of the vote, compared to Cuomo's 36.4%, with 93% of votes in. Because New York City uses a ranked-choice voting system, final results may take a week to determine, but Mamdani is expected to prevail. Cuomo conceded the primary Tuesday night. Cuomo could still run as a third-party candidate in the general election in November, but it is unclear if he will. On Tuesday, he told supporters that he was still considering his next move. Current mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent, while Curtis Sliwa is the Republican nominee. Jim Walden, an attorney, is also running as an independent. If Cuomo decides not to run in the general election, the billionaires who previously backed his campaign could theoretically support another one of these candidates. Adams's reelection prospects are in question after Trump's Justice Department moved to drop corruption charges against the mayor earlier this year.
The Herald Scotland
25-06-2025
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
A Mamdani win in NYC mayoral election could fix Democrats
It was the first time a major poll had shown Mamdani triumphing over Cuomo. Thanks to this new survey, betting markets have also seen a surge in support for Mamdani. On my Instagram, everyone is talking about Mamdani - friends, enemies, politicians and celebrities are coming out of the woodwork to voice their support for the democratic socialist. People in my circle are excited about the prospect of a true progressive running New York City - and it seems there's a lot the Democratic Party could learn from that. Yet instead of studying Mamdani's social media strategy or taking notes on what policies of Mamdani's seem the most popular, establishment Democrats seem to be terrified. Opinion: Some Democrats are finally standing up to Trump - even if it gets them arrested Win or lose, Mamdani's campaign is a warning to Democrats A pro-Cuomo super PAC has spent much of the $24 million raised on ads attacking Mamdani that play at every commercial break. Former President Bill Clinton decided to endorse Cuomo, as did former Mayor Michael Bloomberg - both of whom have also received, uh, famously mixed performance reviews from female staffers. The New York Times Editorial Board, which made no official endorsement, specifically told its readers not to rank Mamdani because of his lack of experience and grandiose ideas. Cuomo, who resigned after it came out that he allegedly sexually harassed 13 women, did not get a warning. Supposedly, this fear is because of how the right will respond to someone with Mamdani's politics running for mayor. Democrats must not understand that they're going to be called socialists regardless. If Mamdani's campaign was a complete failure, people within his party wouldn't have worked so hard to discredit him. Through a combination of his politics and his messaging, he built a campaign strong enough to shake things up within a party that badly needs it. It's not just about his beliefs or his platform, it's about how he's delivered the message. I've previously written about how Mamdani's use of social media feels different from the way former Vice President Kamala Harris used it during the 2024 presidential race. While I'm still wary of the Democrats putting all their eggs in the digital basket, Mamdani's campaign makes it clear that there is a right way to run an online campaign. Mamdani is the future. Democrats should embrace it. Mamdani's videos are more than memes, but they don't spend time waxing poetic about how he's the only one who can stand up to President Donald Trump. His platform is easy to understand in bite-size pieces, even if you have questions about how he'll achieve some of its more explicitly socialist elements. He always brings it back to why he's running - to make sure working class New Yorkers can afford this city. Opinion: A Democratic socialist is running for NYC mayor. I hope he can rally voters. This populist message seems to infuriate Democrats. They do not want to admit that this message - one that is at odds with the motives of ultra rich donors - is a successful one. Polling shows that the populist argument is more appealing to Democratic voters than the "abundance argument" that liberals seem to prefer. At minimum, I hope that Mamdani's campaign inspires Democrats to have a more compelling social media presence. At best, I hope it inspires them to focus on messaging that actually gets people excited. Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store. While it may be a few days until we know the outcome of the Democratic primary, it's clear that Mamdani's campaign accomplished more than anyone expected. It is remarkable that a democratic socialist and 33-year-old politician has been able to hold his own against an established Democrat like Cuomo, 67. If Democratic leaders are smart, they'll try to recruit the people who worked on Mamdani's campaign to work on the 2026 midterm elections. To do that, however, they'll have to get comfortable with the future of the party, which seems to be swinging far to the left. Follow USA TODAY columnist Sara Pequeno on X, formerly Twitter: @sara__pequeno
