Opinion

Cynthia Nixon fudges numbers like a true politician

Cynthia Nixon is proving she has what it takes to be a real New York pol — and can fudge numbers with the best of ’em.

Case in point: She claims 20,000 donors have given to her campaign, more than 10 times as many as have given to Gov. Cuomo. Yet as Politico’s Bill Mahoney notes, she got that figure only by counting multiple donations from the same person as if they’d come from separate donors.

When a Virginia resident made 29 donations of $1 each, for instance, she chalked that up as 29 different donors.

So although she has raised about $1 million in individual contributions, Nixon’s haul actually came from about 15,200 people, not the 20,000 she boasts of.

Hmm. Maybe she’s taking lessons from the master — i.e., the guy she hopes to replace, Andrew Cuomo. After all, when it comes to fudging numbers, double counting and stretching the truth, he’s hard to beat. Among Cuomo’s whoppers:

  • The number of jobs he and his staff say have come from his economic-development efforts rarely matches reality.
  • Last year he took credit for a tax cut the Legislature already passed the year before
  • He repeatedly claims property taxes could be cut by merging the state’s 10,000 local governments, though the Census Bureau puts the number at less than 4,000.

True, playing fast and loose with the facts is a hallmark of politicians, especially in New York. But Nixon is new to politics. Looks like she’s a quick study.