NYC Democrat Jessica Ramos raises cash off minimum wage pitch

A left-leaning New York Democrat is seeking to raise campaign funds — off her bid to boost the minimum wage.

State Sen. Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) raised eyebrows and drew criticism by sending out a 2-for-1 email solicitation that links campaign cash to her pet cause, right after Gov. Kathy Hochul released her $227 billion budget plan.

“Can you chip in $5, $3, or whatever you can afford to help me make the most of these crucial negotiations? This is crunch time,” Ramos said in her pitch to supporters Wednesday.

“Your donations will help me stand strong and show the governor you support the needs of working people in this state. I will keep you posted throughout the budget process. I am so grateful for your support and encouragement,” Ramos said.

Under a new state law, Ramos would be eligible for thousands of dollars in taxpayer matching funds for her small dollar campaign donations.

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Ramos has proposed legislation to boost the current $15 minimum wage to $21.25 an hour in New York City and the suburbs and to $20 an hour upstate by 2026.

Hochul proposed indexing the minimum wage to the cost of living, but didn’t say what the hourly wage should be.

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State Conservative Party Chairman Jerry Kassar said it was rich for Ramos to use the minimum wage issue as a gambit to hit up donors — and taxpayers — for campaign contributions.

“She’s doing a fundraiser off the minimum wage to get support for her political campaign. It’s also ironic that she’s attempting to use taxpayer to aid her campaign,” Kassar said.

Kassar also said her Ramos’ bid to dramatically raise the minimum wage is counterproductive “because it drives jobs and businesses out of the state.”

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The senator also is pushing for an “Unemployment Bridge Program” to aid jobless undocumented immigrants, freelancers and union workers who currently don’t qualify for unemployment benefits.

Ramos’ senior advisor Astrid Aune said the senator “doesn’t respond to nameless `critics’ who cowardly hide behind anonymity.”

“We’re going to keep updating constituents with our wins and fighting every day for working families,” Aune said.

She has said raising the minimum wage will help the working class and poor New Yorkers whose incomes were eroded by record inflation.

“We all know that inflation is through the roof but so are corporate profits,” Ramos, the labor committee chair, told the Chief Leader following a rally on the issue in November. “What’s not though the roof is our wages.”