A day after state Republican chairman Ed Cox asked party leaders not to cross party lines to endorse Gov. Cuomo, GOP power broker Alfonse D’Amato said he’s backing the Democratic governor for re-election.
D’Amato — the former US senator turned lobbyist — was unstinting in his praise of Cuomo, considered the heavy favorite in the upcoming race.
“Overall, he’s done an excellent job,” D’Amato told The Post.
“I don’t agree with everything he’s done. But he’s kept taxes down. He’s controlled spending. He put in a property tax cap that’s very important, particularly for senior citizens. He’s reached out to bring businesses back to the state, particularly upstate.”
D’Amato said he liked Cuomo’s creation of targeted tax free zones to bring high-tech businesses to the state.
D’Amato did fault the governor for failing to move to allow hydro-fracking for natural gas in the upstate Marcellus shale region, which could provide an economic boon to a depressed region.
“But I think of my old friend Ed Koch’s rule. `You agree on eight out of 10 issues, that’s good. If you agree on all 10, go see a psychiatrist,’” D’Amato said.
D’Amato’s endorsement reinforces what the Cox feared — massive defections before the GOP even settles on a rival candidate.
D’Amato was once considered the most powerful Republican in the state when he was in the US Senate. He was instrumental in helping elect Republican George Pataki as governor in the 1990s — the candidate who toppled Andrew Cuomo’s dad, former three-term Gov. Mario Cuomo.
But since becoming a lobbyist who works both sides of the fence for his clients, D’Amato has crossed party lines to back Democrats in statewide and citywide races.
Asked about defying Cox, D’Amato said, “Ed is the state chairman. I certainly respect the job he has to do. But I think Gov. Cuomo has done a good job. It’s a Democratic state. It’s very difficult for a Republican to defeat Cuomo.”
D’Amato — who has close ties to New York’s corporate and real estate community — expects other GOP-leading business leaders to follow his lead.
Some big name Republican donors have already put their money behind Cuomo. Home Depot founder Ken Langone has contributed $50,000 to the governor’s re-election campaign and real estate developer and former Post publisher Peter Kalikow gave $25,000. Supermarket mogul and former GOP mayoral candidate John Catsimatidis also is a big Cuomo booster.
On the Republican side, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino and real estate titan turned reality star Donald Trump are considering whether to run.
For his part, Cox had a different take on Cuomo and Democratic Party rule in Albany.
“After seven years and three Democratic Governors, New York remains the most taxed, most regulated, least economically free state in America with the highest out-migration and the most debt per capita, just as we were when Andrew Cuomo took office,” he said in a letter that went out Tuesday to GOP leaders.