As Questions Surface About Astorino’s Campaign Contributions, Community Group Says Full Disclosure Essential to Determine Any Conflicts of Interest
Albany, NY – Citizen Action of New York today called on Republican gubernatorial candidate Rob Astorino to release complete tax return information for the past five years. So far, Astorino has only released partial tax information. Yesterday, the Daily News reported that Astornio, currently Westchester County Executive, has accepted almost $1 million in campaign contributions from corporations with County contracts.
“Voters deserve to know how candidates running for office earn their income,” said Karen Scharff, Executive Director of Citizen Action of New York. “Transparency is an important part of governing, and if Rob Astorino isn’t willing to release his tax information now as a candidate, that doesn’t bode well for how he’d act if elected.”
In an effort to encourage greater transparency by Astorino, Citizen Action is gathering petition signatures calling on Astornio to release his taxes.
The standard for candidates running for statewide office to release five years of tax returns was set by former Governor George Pataki in 1994. This standard helps to ensure that voters can fully understand the financial interests of candidates who are asking for votes.
Citizen Action has also called on John Cahill, candidate for Attorney General, to release his tax returns.
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