Socialist Brooklyn MP Emily Gallagher shamelessly popped the tin cup to cover her sick cat’s emergency surgery, despite earning a six-figure taxpayer-funded salary.
Gallagher, 39, came up with what he thought was the perfect plan after learning in October 2021 that his beloved cat Roland was in desperate need of emergency surgery to fix a blockage in his bladder, setting up a GoFundMe page to cover what he claimed was a cat-astrophic vet bill of $3,797.
“I do not [sic] I have this money and neither does my partner,” the far-left polemicist wrote on the crowdfunding page. “We applied for a vet loan but were only approved for 1400 [dollars]. Please help us!”
At the time, Gallagher was making $110,000 a year as a state legislator, and her salary has soared to $142,000.
Donations from 52 people totaling $2,471 were dumped like trash in a box, including cash from state Sen. Julia Salazar, a fellow Democratic socialist from Brooklyn; political operative Miranda Augustine, who later landed a job as Gallagher’s district manager; and North Brooklyn anti-car attorney Kevin LaCherra, according to the page.
Eight anonymous donors contributed a total of $175.
The next day, Gallagher sang Social media that Roland’s surgery was a success.
“Roland Barthes is out of surgery and stable. We’ll be picking him up tonight,” he wrote. “I want to mention that I was initially charged $3,797 and told it had to be paid up front. I couldn’t. So I had to negotiate for hours and ask friends and family.”
However, the universal healthcare supporter also revealed that she negotiated the price down to just $1,000, while she was “forced” to take out a high-interest loan to cover the costs.
He did not say where the rest of the donations went.
David Grandeau, the state’s former top lobbying regulator, warned that Gallagher could face possible penalties for violating the Public Officials Act.
“You can’t use your state position to benefit yourself,” he said.
The campaign resurfaced online this week on X, formerly known as Twitter, and many criticized the lawmaker for the donation drive.
“Scammers must dodge” a user emerged.
Others blew the whistle after learning from a Post reporter that Gallagher did not document any of the donations as outside income on mandatory state financial disclosure forms.
“The amounts are small, however [the donors] Get a chance to bluntly say, ‘I was there when your cat was sick,'” said Cam Macdonald, adjunct fellow at the government watchdog group Empire Center for Public Policy.
“The public has a right to know who is winning favor with their elected officials.”
Rep. Chris Tague (R-Schoharie), who noted that he and his wife regularly cover the vet bills for the dogs and cats he rescues, was dismayed that his fellow lawmaker managed to raise cash without disclosing the gifts to the state ethics committee.
“The loophole that allows a sitting state legislator to accept personal donations for his cat belongs in a sandbox,” Tague said.
Former Rep. Joe Lentol (D-Brooklyn), whom Gallagher upset in the 2020 election, he agreed that his former rival should have made mandatory disclosure of additional income disclosure files with the State Ethics Commission.
Lentol: A feline buff whose staff he once saved a lost one kitten that got lost on the office wall; recalled that he was criticized roughly two decades ago for using campaign funds to cover the cost of burying a beloved office cat named Princess.
However, he reported the funeral bills in his campaign documents.
“The difference is, this was an office cat, and he actually worked for me,” Lentol said. “She made people feel very comfortable coming into the office if they had never visited an assembler before and helped break the ice.”
Some questioned whether a person who can’t afford her cat’s medical expenses is even fit for elected office.
“If you’re electing someone who doesn’t know how to pay for their cat’s surgery, shame on them,” Grandeau said.
“This person is obviously not capable of managing our tax dollars if they can’t manage their own family funds.”
Gallagher did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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