UES Assemblywoman Nixes AG James’ Hamptons Fundraiser After Cuomo Report

By Hadassa Kalatizadeh

Following the scathing report which Attorney General Letitia James released in regards to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s sexual harassment case, one politician has withdrawn from co-hosting a fundraiser benefitting AG James.

The AG’s report, released last week, led Cuomo and his camp to question whether the Attorney General may have political motives or is considering a bid against the governor, who would be running for his fourth term next year.

As reported by the NY Post, Assemblywoman Rebecca Seawright (D-Manhattan) was planning to co-host a Hamptons event for James, held at the Southampton home of financial adviser and LGBTQ activist Judith Kaser-Windsor, the widow of Edie Windsor. As per the initial invitation, tickets for the event cost up to $5,000 a person. Recently, however, Seawright’s name was removed from the invitation, distancing her from James. James’ report accused Cuomo of sexually harassing 11 women, including nine current or former state workers. Cuomo has denied any wrongdoing. One political insider said the timing of Saturday night’s “summer backyard tea dance” fund-raiser to benefit James’ re-election campaign didn’t look good. “The ink was barely dry on the AG’s report before Tish was raising big bucks for her campaign,” the source said. “This doesn’t exactly kill the speculation that her motivations against Cuomo were extremely political.”

Seawright represents the 76th District, which includes portions of the Upper East Side, Roosevelt Island and Yorkville. Her withdrawal from the fundraiser does not indicate her support for Gov. Cuomo. “As a member of the Judiciary Committee, and to avoid the appearance of any conflict during the investigation, I removed my name from the invitation,” Seawright commented on Sunday, regarding the fundraiser. “I attended the event because Tish supported me during my run for Assembly and I wanted to show my support for her re-election,” she added.

Seawright is one of 18 members in the Judiciary Committee, conducting a wide-ranging impeachment investigation of Gov. Cuomo. On Thursday, Chairman Charles Lavine (D-LI) released a letter which told Cuomo that their probe was “nearing completion”, as per the committee’s lawyers. The letter gave Cuomo till Friday to submit any further information for consideration. The committee was set to meet Monday morning in Albany, and may make a decision on whether it will move against him.

On Friday, Seawright called James’ report “devastating” for Cuomo and added, “As a member of the Judiciary Committee charged with reviewing all the facts, I want to see the process to conclusion, including the drawing up and approval of articles of impeachment.”