Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, who championed the effort to legalize same-sex marriage in New York, received $60,000 in campaign money from one of the state’s leading gay-rights groups, according to campaign finance records filed Friday with the State Board of Elections, The New York Times reporting the check from the group, Empire State Pride Agenda, was one of the biggest among the $5.5 million in contributions Cuomo has received since January. It is a big haul for any governor, and it has come as Cuomo, a Democrat, racked up big political wins in his first six months in office. Lawmakers who were instrumental in legalizing same-sex marriage last month also saw big contributions from supporters of the legislation, according to the Board of Elections filings. “The fervid campaign in support of gay marriage filled both the halls of the State Capitol and legislators’ wallets,” Bill Mahoney, research coordinator for the New York Public Interest Research Group, said. Mahoney added, however, that Cuomo’s biggest benefactors remain the traditional lobbying powers: businesses that support his initiative to cap property tax increases; landlords, developers and tenant advocates who sought the renewal of New York City’s rent control laws; and contributors with interests in health care and education. The governor’s biggest individual supporters include people in city real estate and business circles, many of whom have business with the state. He has appointed some of those supporters to state boards and positions. Howard P. Milstein, for example, contributed $25,000 on Feb. 3, and Cuomo appointed Mr. Milstein, a Manhattan banker and real estate developer, to head the Thruway Authority on May 31. Such fund-raising while controversial issues are being negotiated is common and a concern of government watchdog groups. Cuomo campaigned last year on a promise to limit Albany’s “pay to play” culture, part of which is addressed in an ethics bill approved this year. Records show that Cuomo’s campaign received the check from Empire State Pride Agenda on May 3, the same day he announced that it was a “different day” and that he was optimistic the same-sex-marriage bill would pass. Days later, supporters stepped up their efforts to lobby the Republican majority in the Senate to provide enough votes to pass the measure. In April, Cuomo assigned top staff members to organize the lobbying efforts of supporting groups. He signed the bill June 24, after helping persuade four Republican senators to vote for it. Those Republicans each received $10,300, the maximum contribution allowed by law, from Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, who supports same-sex marriage; national advocates of same-sex marriage also gave the senators as much as $50,000. “The mayor said he would support Senate Republicans who stood up, and he did,” Micah C. Lasher, a spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg, said. The news of the contributions prompted Senator Rubén Díaz Sr., the only Senate Democrat who voted against same-sex marriage, to question publicly whether senators were for sale. “If this is not a quid pro quo,” he said, “please tell me what this is.”
All couples, whether they are gay or straight, are going to have to search a little harder to find someone to officiate at civil weddings in the Town of Deerpark, in Suffolk County, New York, The Times Herald-Record reporting that both of Deerpark's marriage officers are resigning their posts because of the passage of late last month legalizing same-sex marriage. Town Clerk Flo Santini has resigned as a marriage officer. Supervisor Karl Brabenec says he's planning on turning in his letter of resignation as a marriage officer at Monday's Town Board meeting. Brabenec, a Republican, said his resignation was in response to the law allowing same-sex marriages in New York, which clashes with his Roman Catholic faith. "I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman," he said. As a civil official and a marriage officer, Brabenec would be required to perform any legal marriages, so he is giving up the post. Santini, also a Republican, said she was thinking of resigning as a marriage officer before the state approved same-sex marriage, but that change pushed her over the edge. She said that after nine years of performing weddings in the town, she's getting burned out. Plus, she said, she expects more work when same-sex couples start coming into the office. Marriage officiant is an unpaid, volunteer position in the town and requires officials to be available on weekends. Brabenec said at this time, the town has no plans to replace the marriage officers. But Santini said that as the register of vital statistics as well as the town clerk, she will provide marriage licenses to all couples, as required by law, and recommend other people who can perform the marriage ceremonies for gay and straight couples. Santini also said she knew of at least one same-sex couple that was planning to apply for a license on July 25. The marriage officers in Deerpark have traditionally been the clerk and supervisor. Under state law, town Justices Laurie Osowick and John Wulff would have the authority to perform civil marriage ceremonies, but neither could be reached on Thursday. Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, said the town is leaving itself open to legal action if it refused to provide anybody to perform civil marriages. "It reminds me of a school district in the South (in the 1960s) that closed rather than integrate," she said. "The time for that type of bigotry has ended."
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