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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact:

Sam Quigley, sam@patrioticmillionaires.org, 202-446-0489

Wealthy New York Donors Call Out Speaker Heastie on Fundraiser for Wealthy New York Donors

“This is a slap in the face to the people of New York, and yet another sign of how broken our state's politics are across the board”

New York, New York

Today, the Patriotic Millionaires will join Rise and Resist for a protest outside of a major fundraiser by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie for high-end donors. The protest will challenge Heastie for backing down on campaign finance reform when given the chance to actually include it in the New York state budget, and then following that up by meeting with wealthy donors just weeks later. This follows a digital ad from the Patriotic Millionaires challenging Governor Cuomo for holding a secret fundraiser for wealthy donors just a week before killing an expansion of the millionaires tax in the state budget.

Morris Pearl, New York resident and Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires, issued the following statement:
"In this year's budget, Speaker Heastie failed to adequately raise taxes on wealthy New Yorkers or include the campaign finance reform that everyday New Yorkers need to make their voices heard. Now just days later, Heastie is holding a big-ticket, $25,000 fundraiser for the very same wealthy donors who he apparently wants to have outsized political power in New York. This is a slap in the face to the people of New York, and yet another sign of how broken our state's politics are across the board. This is just another example in a long line of exclusive, high-priced fundraisers that leave our elected officials listening primarily to wealthy donors like me instead of normal voters.
Speaker Heastie isn't alone. A few weeks ago, as budget negotiations were being finalized, Governor Cuomo held a secret fundraiser for some of his major donors at the St. Regis Hotel. Just a week later, he helped kill a bill that would have significantly raised taxes on New York millionaires. No politician in New York should put his or her donors before their constituents, and fundraisers like these send exactly the wrong message to voters concerned that their voices aren't being heard."
What: Heastie Failed Us! a protest
Where: Terroir Restaurant, 24 Harrison Street (Greenwich St. and Hudson St in Tribeca)
When: Thurs, April 11th at 5:30pm
For further comments or questions, please contact Sam Quigley at sam@patrioticmillionaires.org.

The Patriotic Millionaires is a group of high-net worth Americans who share a profound concern about the destabilizing level of inequality in America. Our work centers on the two things that matter most in a capitalist democracy: power and money. Our goal is to ensure that the country's political economy is structured to meet the needs of regular Americans, rather than just millionaires. We focus on three "first" principles: a highly progressive tax system, a livable minimum wage, and equal political representation for all citizens.

(202) 446-0489