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Governor Cuomo Hijacks $90 Million from State Power Authority for

New Round of Thinly Disguised Political TV Ads  

New York--April 6...Governor Andrew Cuomo is at it again, hijacking tens of millions of taxpayer dollars to run thinly-disguised political ads designed to boost his polling numbers, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino today charged.

The governor, according to the New York political journal Capital, is now diverting $90 million from the New York State Power Authority to finance, in part, a new round of advertising for a "Start-Up New York" program that has failed to deliver significant results.  Mr. Cuomo spent upwards of $237.5 million taxpayer dollars for dubious TV ads leading up the the 2014 election.  That included money diverted from Hurricane Sandy relief funds, and much of the money was spent in New York State media markets.

New York has some of the highest utility rates -- and the very highest taxes -- in America.   

"Middle class taxpayers are stretched to the limit, and they don't want their tax dollars wasted," County Executive Astorino said. "Gimmicks like these are why New Yorkers have lost faith in their government leaders and why so many businesses and families have bailed out on New York. This is disappointing in the extreme."

Mr. Astorino called for a full accounting from the governor's office on how much of this $90 million will be spent on in-state TV ads.