Madmallard
.223 Rem
In late March, Gov. Andrew Cuomo made something of a splash: He announced that his office had hired or promoted 27 people, nearly half of whom were veterans of either former President Barack Obama's administration or Hillary Clinton's unsuccessful 2016 presidential campaign.
The news sparked further buzz that Cuomo is gearing up to potentially run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
All but a handful of the new positions appear to be roles within Cuomo's Executive Chamber.
Yet only five are actually on the governor's own payroll.
The spate of well-paid additions accelerates a trend of staffers working on the Capitol's second floor but drawing their salaries from various state agencies and public authorities. The practice has allowed Cuomo and previous governors to make new hires while avoiding accusations of expanding their own budgets.
"If the governor is going to hire people for his political operation, he should be much more transparent and not bury them in corners of state government so as to avoid scrutiny," said Dick Dadey, executive director of the government reform group Citizens Union, which is currently in litigation with the Cuomo administration over a 2016 nonprofit lobbying law. "Money spent by these agencies for political purposes is money that's not spent on the critical business of the state."
Take Joel Wertheimer. In his prior job in the White House, Wertheimer was responsible for coordinating and reviewing briefing materials sent to Obama.
In his new post as staff secretary for Cuomo, Wertheimer is drawing his $120,000 salary on the budget of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, an agency meant to help people recover from addiction.
Or Robert Gibbon, a former state Senate staffer and an attorney. He was retained in December as assistant counsel to the governor for transportation at a salary of $105,000.
Yet Gibbon has been occupying a budget slot on the payroll of the Justice Center, an agency meant to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect at homes for the disabled.
After being asked by the Times Union about Gibbon's status, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said, "The Gibbon line was a mistake that will be corrected." Azzopardi said Gibbon would now be moved to the payroll of the quasi-governmental Thruway Authority.
The Times Union reported in November that, at the time, more than 40 percent of the Executive Chamber payroll was actually being paid by various state agencies or public authorities. That was before the spate of new hires.
"We always aim to hire the best and brightest, and many talented people were available," said Azzopardi. "We're proud they're now part of Team Cuomo and will help us move New York forward."
Sometimes, the payments for Executive Chamber jobs come from entities that seem to have little correlation to the person's job duties in the governor's office. With these new hires, Azzopardi said there typically is a "nexus" between the mission of the agencies paying various staff and their roles in the governor's office.
Few of new Cuomo hires actually on Executive Chamber payroll
The news sparked further buzz that Cuomo is gearing up to potentially run for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020.
All but a handful of the new positions appear to be roles within Cuomo's Executive Chamber.
Yet only five are actually on the governor's own payroll.
The spate of well-paid additions accelerates a trend of staffers working on the Capitol's second floor but drawing their salaries from various state agencies and public authorities. The practice has allowed Cuomo and previous governors to make new hires while avoiding accusations of expanding their own budgets.
"If the governor is going to hire people for his political operation, he should be much more transparent and not bury them in corners of state government so as to avoid scrutiny," said Dick Dadey, executive director of the government reform group Citizens Union, which is currently in litigation with the Cuomo administration over a 2016 nonprofit lobbying law. "Money spent by these agencies for political purposes is money that's not spent on the critical business of the state."
Take Joel Wertheimer. In his prior job in the White House, Wertheimer was responsible for coordinating and reviewing briefing materials sent to Obama.
In his new post as staff secretary for Cuomo, Wertheimer is drawing his $120,000 salary on the budget of the Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services, an agency meant to help people recover from addiction.
Or Robert Gibbon, a former state Senate staffer and an attorney. He was retained in December as assistant counsel to the governor for transportation at a salary of $105,000.
Yet Gibbon has been occupying a budget slot on the payroll of the Justice Center, an agency meant to investigate allegations of abuse and neglect at homes for the disabled.
After being asked by the Times Union about Gibbon's status, Cuomo spokesman Rich Azzopardi said, "The Gibbon line was a mistake that will be corrected." Azzopardi said Gibbon would now be moved to the payroll of the quasi-governmental Thruway Authority.
The Times Union reported in November that, at the time, more than 40 percent of the Executive Chamber payroll was actually being paid by various state agencies or public authorities. That was before the spate of new hires.
"We always aim to hire the best and brightest, and many talented people were available," said Azzopardi. "We're proud they're now part of Team Cuomo and will help us move New York forward."
Sometimes, the payments for Executive Chamber jobs come from entities that seem to have little correlation to the person's job duties in the governor's office. With these new hires, Azzopardi said there typically is a "nexus" between the mission of the agencies paying various staff and their roles in the governor's office.
Few of new Cuomo hires actually on Executive Chamber payroll
