Newly-named Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado is facing scrutiny about a super PAC funded by cryptocurrency interests who have up to $1 million at hand to help him win a full term in office this year.
“Antonio Delgado will claim that he doesn’t have anything to do with this enormous amount of dirty money that’s being spent on his behalf. And if that is true, he has an opportunity to prove it,” activist Ana Maria Archila, who is running against Delgado in the June 28 Democratic primary, said at a virtual press conference Tuesday.
She then called on him to publicly reject the help from Protect Our Future, the super PAC that has already begun spending $66,000 for digital ads supporting Delgado, Politico New York reported Monday.
A spokeswoman for Delgado did not respond to a request for comment.
Delgado is locked in a three-way race for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor against Archila, a progressive, and centrist former City Councilwoman Diana Reyna.
State campaign finance records show that he has millions more to spend on the primary than either of his opponents, largely due to the formidable war chest he raised as a congressman representing parts of the Catskills and Hudson Valley.
The controversial spending on behalf of Delgado, who officially took office last month, comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul faces some tough decisions regarding cryptocurrencies.
State lawmakers recently passed a controversial two-year moratorium on cryptocurrency mining at moth-balled fossil fuel plants, which Governor Kathy Hochul could either sign or veto.
Supporters of the new measure say it will help the state meet its ambitious climate goals while opponents counter that it would discourage the development of an emerging new industry.
Hochul told reporters Tuesday that she is in no hurry to make up her mind.
“We have a lot of work to do over the next, actually, six months,” said Hochul, who has accepted controversial campaign donations from cryptocurrency interests, said at a Manhattan press conference.
The response suggests voters will head to the polls without knowing where the governor stands on the controversial legislation, Archila noted.
Archila is running alongside gubernatorial candidate Jumaane Williams, the city public advocate, with the help of the Working Families Party.
Reyna, the running mate of gubernatorial candidate Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-Nassau) could not be reached for comment by publication time.
“They are pouring their money into the campaign of my opponent Antonio Delgado because the billionaires know who is going to do their bidding in Albany and they are spending lavishly to elect him,” Archila said of cryptocurrency interests.
