The head of the Assembly ethics panel is holding a re-election fundraiser just days before she and other pols are set to submit the state budget — raising eyebrows even in Albany’s jaded pay-to-play culture.
Many of the people hit up for donations to such events are traditionally lobbyists and their clients who have business before the state — including items tied to the state budget, which is due April 1.
Brooklyn Democratic Assemblywoman and panel Chair Jo Anne Simon is holding the event at the Hollow Bar on Tuesday night near the Capitol building in Albany.
The fundraiser has an asking price of $3,000 for co-hosts, who include state Attorney General Letitia James and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, according to the invitation posted on actblue.com.
The asking prices also range from $50 for “general & central staff,” $125 for an attendee, $250 for a “guest,” $500 for a “friend,” $1,000 for a “supporter” and $2,000 for a “sponsor.”
“What kind of message does it send to the voters when the ethics committee chair engages [in this] before the legislature votes on the budget?” asked a surprised Assembly insider.
Simon’s event is a microcosm of the fundraising frenzy that occurs from the beginning of the legislative session in January through early June — particularly in an election year and around budget negotiations.
The New York Public Interest Research Group previously conducted a study that found more than 170 fundraisers were held by statewide elected officials such as the governor and state lawmakers in the Assembly and Senate from January through June when the legislature is in session– even in off-election years.
“Over the years, Albany’s legislative session has become a fundraising bonanza for lobbyists and their well-heeled clients,” said the nonpartisan New York Public Interest Research Group’s executive director, Blair Horner.
Earlier this year, The Post reported that the Democratic Assembly Campaign Committee and Speaker Carl Heastie held a fundraiser Jan. 8, the night before Gov. Kathy Hochul delivered her State of the State address.
But the questionable fund-raising season is a bipartisan feast, with Republicans in the minority jockeying for campaign bucks in the capital along with Democrats in power at all levels of state government.
Hochul has been a prodigious fundraiser during the legislative session.
Simon had no immediate comment.
