Metro
exclusive

Sen. Espaillat’s supporters warn Cuomo not to back Rangel

Scandal-scarred Harlem Congressman Charlie Rangel is bragging that he’s going to be endorsed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but supporters of state Sen. Adriano Espaillat, furious over Rangel’s “Dominican’’ comment a few days ago, warn that an endorsement would damage Cuomo’s own re-election efforts.

Espaillat’s backers, claiming that Cuomo has repeatedly shown hostility to Hispanic politicians, say his endorsement of Rangel could be the final straw that leads to a break with the governor by some of the city’s best-known Latino leaders.

“Charlie is trying to fan the flames of division between the black and Latino communities. If Andrew gets behind that, he’s going to have some serious problems with Latino leaders,’’ said a prominent Democratic activist who is backing the hard-charging Espaillat in the June 24 primary.

“First, Cuomo jabs Latinos in the eye by picking someone [Lt. Gov.-designate Kathy Hochul] who wanted to jail undocumented New Yorkers; now he endorses the most corrupt member of Congress over potentially the first Dominican to serve in Congress?’’ the activist continued.

During a debate with Espaillat on Friday, Rangel infuriated Hispanic political leaders and even some of his own backers when he questioned Espaillat’s credentials by asking, “What the heck has he done, besides saying he’s a Dominican?”

Rangel’s “Dominican attack’’ was widely perceived as an ethnic smear, and even the Rev. Al Sharpton, a Democratic activist and MSNBC talk-show host who is no stranger to racially incendiary remarks, appeared Saturday to admonish Rangel for the comment.

Cuomo, who backed Rangel two years ago, has yet to officially endorse him — despite Rangel’s public claim of the governor’s support at a May 19 rally.

But some of Espaillat’s closest backers are expecting the governor to do so.


Cuomo’s claim that legalized casino gambling would be a boon to the hard-pressed upstate economy appeared to be unraveling last week as longtime sponsors of a Sullivan County casino abandoned their plans while Capital District locales battled to keep another casino at bay.

Trading Cove and the Stockbridge-Munsee Tribe walked away from a 14-year effort to win the right to build a casino in the heart of the Catskills’ one-time Borscht Belt because Cuomo’s plan allows another casino to be built in southern Orange County, much closer to the population-heavy New York City/Westchester market.

Meanwhile, a proposed Capital District casino has run into serious public opposition in Albany, Saratoga Springs and the Rensselaer County town of East Greenbush — and has raised concerns that, wherever it’s built, it could damage attendance at the famed Saratoga Race Course.


Some wealthy Wall Street executives and investors, furious over what they see as Attorney General Eric Schneiderman’s demonization of securities firms, are in the process of forming a new independent super PAC to back the campaign of Republican attorney general-hopeful John Cahill.

“There’s been so much abuse of the Martin Act by Schneiderman, coming years after abuse by [Attorneys General] Andrew Cuomo and Eliot Spitzer, that a lot of people are interested in helping Cahill,’’ said a GOP source, referring to New York’s law giving the attorney general wide powers to investigate the financial industry.

Super PACs are allowed to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money on political campaigns, as long as they don’t coordinate their activities with the campaigns of the candidates they’re supporting, which are limited by state law as to how much money they can raise.

Cahill, a one-time top aide to Gov. George Pataki, is receiving tacit support from Cuomo, who has an anything-but-warm relationship with Schneiderman.