Barrett says he planned to support Cuomo from the beginning.
Former state GOP chairman J. Patrick Barrett will campaign for Democrat Andrew Cuomo for governor.Syracuse, NY - Former state Republican chairman and Manlius businessman J. Patrick Barrett will appear in an campaign ad this week supporting Democrat Andrew Cuomo for governor.
Barrett said Sunday he was also named one of Cuomo’s four campaign co-chairs.
Barrett, who led the state Republican committee from 1989 to 1991, has donated $54,940 to the Cuomo campaign in the past two years, according to state Board of Elections records.
He said he’s never met Cuomo’s Republican challenger, Carl Paladino, but it wouldn’t have mattered. Barrett said he planned to support Cuomo from the day he entered the race.
“I’m angry, like Mr. Paladino and others, but I want to do it by supporting the positive,” Barrett said.
In the ad for Cuomo, Barrett notes his GOP affiliation. “But this year, it can’t be about politics...it’s about fixing what’s broken. That’s why I’m for Andrew Cuomo.”
Contact Douglass Dowty at ddowty@syracuse.com or 470-6070.