Amid multiple investigations, Governor Andrew Cuomo is holding a “summer reception” fundraiser, with tickets going for a whopping $10,000 per person as he prepares for a potential re-election run.
The June 29 event is marked as a “summer reception,” according to an invite sent out by Cuomo’s campaign, and offers a $10,000-per-person seat — or $15,000 for two.
The event in New York City also has a “Host Committee” level available, although it is not clear what that involves.
Cuomo has not formally announced a re-election run as of yet. But clearly with the invite saying “Cuomo for New York,” it’s safe to say he’s having another crack at it.
The governor has been hit by a number of scandals in recent months after he was initially hailed by media outlets as a hero in early 2020 for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
He has faced ongoing scrutiny of an early order to send COVID patients to nursing homes, which his administration admitted they tried to cover it up. Earlier this year a top aide said his administration had withheld numbers about nursing home deaths for fear of them being “used against us.”
He has also been rocked by a number of sexual harassment allegations from women, including former staff, as well as revelations that people connected to Cuomo were given special treatment at state coronavirus centers.
Last month he was quizzed by a reporter about the $5 million book deal he received for his widely-mocked book on “leadership lessons” during the pandemic — published shortly before COVID numbers again spiked in the Empire State.
“I thought your question was stupid and offensive,” he told a reporter, who asked whether it would offend the relatives of those who died of the virus.
When asked about the investigation into his administration by the Department of Justice about the alleged prioritization of people connected to him, Cuomo said America is in “toxic political times” and his administration didn’t do “anything in New York State that wasn’t done by anyone else.”