Cuomo to Host $10,000-a-Ticket Campaign Fundraiser in NYC

Gov. Andrew Cuomo will host a campaign fundraising event in New York City this month, charging $10,000 a person to toast the three-term Democrat as he confronts state and federal investigations into sexual harassment and abuse of his office.

The “Summer Reception” will occur June 29, according to an invitation posted on the governor’s campaign website that didn’t specify where the event will be held. Cuomo’s office, as well as Ryan Belcher, a campaign official listed on the invitation, and Gita Tiku, the campaign’s finance director, didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

The fundraising event is scheduled a few weeks before the July 15 deadline for disclosing how much money the governor’s campaign has raised in the past six months. The snapshot will may indicate whether Cuomo is still a viable candidate to run for a fourth term after allegations he sexually harassed aides.

He also faces state and federal investigations into claims that he covered up Covid nursing-home deaths, provided relatives with virus testing before it was widely available, mishandled construction of the Mario Cuomo Bridge and misused public resources while writing a $5 million leadership book.

Before the allegations surfaced, Cuomo had said he would run for re-election. He has since declined to comment on his plans. In a poll released last month by Siena College, 37% of respondents said they would vote for Cuomo if he ran for a fourth term.

Cuomo could also use campaign funds to cover bills from legal counsel he has hired to represent him in the state and federal investigations.

Among Cuomo’s major re-election fundraisers was a virtual birthday 63rd bash in December that included actors Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie Perez and Ben Stiller.

Campaign filings in January revealed the governor had raised more than $4 million during the last six months of 2020, when a second coronavirus wave hit the state. At the time, Cuomo had $16.8 million in cash on hand, thanks to donors including Google’s former chief executive officer, Eric Schmidt, and real estate developers Aby Rosen, Robert Speyer and Todd Rechler.