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Cuomo enjoys perks of office
Sep 04, 2018 12:03 pm
Tom Precious in the Buffalo News reports how Gov. Andrew Cuomo is using the perks of office to help in his election efforts this fall. Cuomo is currently facing actor Cynthia Nixon in a Democratic primary Sept. 13, with the winner facing Republican, and current Dutchess County executive, Marc Molinaro in November. All three marched in a New York City parade on Labor Day, and then Cuomo had state aircraft fly him to Syracuse to make an announcement about record attendance at the State Fair later in the day. His opponents weren't as fortunate. "If there's traffic for us, there's traffic," said Lauren Hitt, a Nixon campaign spokesperson. State agencies have mailed out hundreds of thousands of postcards and letters about various Albany initiatives ahead of the elections and most include the administration's mantra: "Under Governor Cuomo's leadership …" According to the newspaper, "That term is used in a various forms in 786 different agency documents posted on one main state government website." And while the Cuomo administration says the timing has nothing to do with the elections, the state tax department has been mailing out property tax credit checks earlier than ever annual this year to two million taxpayers in New York. And, in June, the Molinaro campaign filed an ethics complaint over the governor's use of students on school grounds at events promoting Cuomo's political agenda. "We can't use taxpayer money to advance our campaign. Nor should we. It's gross," said Hitt, the Nixon spokesperson. Richard Azzopardi, Cuomo administration spokesperson, avoided the issue with his response. "As has been the case for the last eight years, the governor has been and remains focused on using government as a vehicle to improve the lives of New Yorkers. They deserve nothing less. Campaign events are handled by the campaign," he said. Read the full story in the Buffalo News.