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Board of elections implies Cuomo is a candidate

Mar 09, 2022 1:23 pm

Joshua Solomon reports in the Times Union that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo won't say whether he is running for office, the state's board of elections implies he is. "Although former Gov. Cuomo has not announced any explicit plan to run for a specific public office, his conduct fits the definition of candidate set forth in Election Law," New York's Board of Elections Chief Enforcement Counsel Michael L. Johnson wrote in response to a complaint filed by good governments over Cuomo's use of campaign funds since his resignation in August. Cuomo has recently aired television commercials to rehabilitate his image, and this week began public appearances, after being accused of sexual harassment by 11 women. "I'm not going anywhere," Cuomo said March 6 after a public appearance. "I said what I said today and that's all I'm going to say today." Johnson, who was appointed by Cuomo, said that state Election Law "does not prohibit a former office holder, or anyone else from using campaign funds to test the waters for a future political candidacy." Cuomo has $16.4 million in campaign funds from his time as governor. "This isn't right that someone can leave office with a gigantic sum of money and then basically spend it in a campaign of relentless self-promotion," said Blair Horner, executive director of the New York Public Interest Research Group. Read more about this story in the Times Union.