By Dan Murphy
Democratic State Senate candidate Peter Harckham has denied accusations and published reports that he received two state salaried jobs at the same time, commonly known as “double-dipping.” Harckham is running against State Sen. Terrence Murphy in the 40th Senate District, which includes northern Westchester, Putnam and parts of Dutchess counties.
Harckham posted on social media that the Murphy campaign’s allegations of double-dipping are false. “Pete worked for the Office of Community Renewal, and then left this position to work for the Thruway Authority,” stated the Harckham campaign on Facebook. “He did not hold both positions at once or draw two salaries at the same time. Terrence Murphy is lying. He’s deliberately ignoring the fact that the two state agencies operate on different fiscal years and trying to claim that the overlap meant Pete was being paid for two full-time jobs.”
The Harckham campaign does not reject the claims that he received two salaries in excess of $100,000 per year and which totaled more than $300,000. It also claims that both jobs are not “low-show” jobs and that “the time commitment for the jobs Pete held in the governor’s administration met, and often exceeded, 40 hours per week.”
A recent letter to the editor from Gene Driscoll in Putnam County calls into question Harckham’s claims: “Mr. Murphy, in your recent story on the State Senate race between Terrence Murphy and Peter Harckham, you mention that Harckham ‘double-dipped’ on the taxpayers by collecting two state salaries at the same time. As someone who also works in state government with some knowledge of this situation, I believe you were wrong in that assessment.
“Instead, Mr. Harckham went from one state job to another state job, which although may not appear as bad as double-dipping, the fact that his job responsibilities were few or none at both positions is an affront to me, not only as a state employee but a taxpayer of this state.
“How did Mr. Harckham get his plum positions in state government? Who was Mr. Harckham’s Sugar Daddy? You alluded to it in your story. Please finish the story.” (End of Driscoll letter.)
The quiet and exclusive Westchester community of South Salem came into the spotlight during the trial of Joe Percoco, close aide and Cuomo family confidant for decades, who was convicted of corruption and sentenced to six years in prison. One name in Westchester politics was listed in a questionnaire handed out to prospective jurors for the Percoco trial, asking, “Do you or does any member of your family or a close friend know or have / had dealings with…”
That former Westchester elected official was Peter Harckham.
Why did Harckham’s name appear on a list of more than 100 possible persons involved in the Percoco campaign who could be called to testify? Percoco managed the 2014 re-election campaign of Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who defeated Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino. Harckham served as a Cuomo ally during his 2014 re-election bid. Both Harckham and Percoco owned South Salem homes, with Percoco moving to Westchester in 2010.
After Cuomo’s re-election, Harckham was given positions in the Cuomo administration, with a recommendation from Percoco, who was not yet indicted or convicted of any crimes in 2015.
While working as a top staffer for the New NY Bridge Project, emails obtained by the Journal News show that Harckham had little or no knowledge of when the opening of the second span would occur.
In one e-mail, Harckham wrote: “We still do not know when the shift (will) occur. Once we know, lol, we hope to be able to give you detailed information to answer constituent questions.” The bridge opened less than two weeks later, but Harckham, serving as a “director of intergovernmental affairs” for the bridge, had no knowledge of its progress?
Martha Ruiz Jiménez, a spokesperson for Murphy’s campaign, said: “The last time anyone had heard from Peter Harckham was when his name appeared on the list of potential witnesses in the Joe Percoco corruption trial, until he was suddenly plucked from obscurity as the governor’s hand-picked Senate candidate in this race. Taxpayers deserve to know exactly when and for how long Peter Harckham was on the government dole, and what, if any work he actually did. As his cynical e-mail showed, this is no laughing matter. How was Mr. Harckham hired? Was the position advertised? Was there a civil service test? Did Joe Percoco have anything to do with it?”
While the voters appreciate Harckham’s clarification that he was not double-dipping on the taxpayers, the other questions listed above have not been answered.
With less than three weeks to go until election day, Nov. 6, Cuomo and Congressman Nita Lowey are planning a fundraiser for Harckham’s campaign this week. The latest campaign filing shows Harckham with just more than $30,000 left on hand after raising $40,000 in the latest cycle. Murphy has $382,000 on hand after raising $90,000 in the latest cycle.
