Tag: Strong Economy for All Coalition

Andrew M. Cuomo has long supported closing the so-called L.L.C. The donations were made possible by a loophole in New York’s campaign finance law that, for more than 20 years, has allowed corporations to create limited liability companies for the sole purpose of giving virtually unlimited amounts of money to candidates. Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat, has been by far the greatest beneficiary of the state loophole in recent years, raising more than $17.5 million from L.L.C.s since taking office in 2011. The Senate Republicans’ campaign committee raised more than $3.4 million from L.L.C.s in that time, compared with $1 million for the Democrats. The Democrat-dominated Assembly has voted to close the loophole for years. For years, he has professed support for closing the loophole; for years, he blamed Republicans for the effort’s downfall. “You’ve got a bunch of lawmakers that might or might not care about abstract campaign finance or good government rules,” Mr. Kink said, “but they understand that taking care of tenants is really important to their political survival.” The push coincides with a surge in attention nationwide to the once-humdrum issue of money in politics. In the past, real estate groups used L.L.C.s to deluge upstate Republicans, knowing that their constituents would be less likely to care about the industry’s long shadow, according to Susan Lerner, the executive director of Common Cause New York, a government reform group. loophole. “Without more, it’s not going to mean much in terms of changing the role of big money in New York State politics.”