A New York State Assembly candidate who is heavily favored to win a seat in November has been seeking help to pay his rent and buy groceries through a crowdfunding campaign on GoFundMe.
Brian Romero, the Democrat nominee for the 34th Assembly District covering parts of Jackson Heights and Elmhurst in Queens, created the fundraiser to cover living expenses while he waits for the $142,000 annual salary that comes with the job.
Romero left his job as a legislative aide earlier this year to focus on his campaign and had depleted his savings, prompting him to turn to friends for help covering his $2,600 monthly rent in the Jackson Heights apartment he shares with his partner.
The fundraiser, titled “Help Brian Cover Rent After State Assembly Run,” was initially seeking $2,000 and had raised just over $1,000 before Romero abruptly took it down following questions from a local newspaper.
Romero won the June Democrat primary with 66 percent of the vote against a local activist, and with no Republican opponent in the deep-blue district, he is all but guaranteed to take the seat once occupied by his former boss.
Assembly members receive a $203 daily per diem when the legislature is in session, in addition to their base salary, and Romero has previously earned $106,469 as a senior advisor to a state senator.
Romero has said he tried and failed to navigate a “broken” unemployment insurance system and is now relying on friends for help, with many pointing out the poor optics of a politician who will soon help decide how New York spends billions in taxpayer dollars publicly pleading poverty online.
