New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
will co-host a fundraiser for the four GOP senators who voted in
favor of a gay marriage bill, The
New York Times reported.
Thursday's Manhattan fundraiser will
benefit Republican Senators Stephen Saland of Poughkeepsie, James
Alesi of Rochester, Roy McDonald of Saratoga and Mark Grisanti of
Buffalo.
Tickets run as high as $16,800, the
election law's current maximum donation to a campaign. ($10,300 for
the campaign, plus a $6,500 contribution for potential primary
challenges.) The fundraiser is expected to raise $1.25 million, a
windfall by Albany standards. Bloomberg has already donated the
maximum allowed to the four senators.
The event is co-chaired by Bloomberg,
gay philanthropist Tim Gill and Elliot Management Corp. CEO Paul E.
Singer. Singer has been described by The New York Times as
“one of the most generous Republican donors in the country.” The
invitation also lists representatives from Marriage Equality New York
(MENY), the Gill Action Fund and the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the
nation's largest gay rights group.
Christopher Plante, the northeast
regional coordinator for the National Organization for Marriage
(NOM), which is spearheading a campaign to oust the pro-gay marriage
senators, told the Times: “We're not the last bit surprised
about the money trail. But what we have are the people and voters of
New York, who expect more out of their politicians, and we expect
that they will stand up. The people of New York will not forget what
these senators did.”