Hochul bought COVID tests from a donor. Was it unethical?

Plus: The power of Puerto Rico and the Latino vote in NY [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] [Ad: Get tickets for the New Jersey Symphony's Jaws in concert October 28th through 30th]( Sponsored Message What to know about Gov. Hochul's $637 million COVID test controversy [By Jon Campbell]( [a close-up of Gov. Kathy Hochul ] Michael Brochstein/Shutterstock During the height of the omicron wave last fall, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s administration paid more than $600 million to buy 52 million at-home COVID-19 tests from a company led by one of her major campaign donors, [a fact that's become a looming issue with weeks to go until the gubernatorial election](. Hochul's Republican opponent, Rep. Lee Zeldin of Long Island, released a new television ad last week accusing Hochul of engaging in "pay-to-play" and rigging the COVID test spending to benefit her supporters. The Democratic governor disputes Zeldin’s take, arguing that New York was staring down the omicron wave last fall and had to amass tests to get kids back in school. Digital Gadgets — a consumer electronics company owned by Charlie Tebele, one of her major campaign donors — could deliver the goods. [Here's what we know so far]( What is Digital Gadgets? And what is the company’s connection to Hochul? Digital Gadgets LLC is a New Jersey-based company that, at least until COVID hit, specialized in consumer electronics, accessories, and, well, gadgets — things like Alexa-enabled smart sockets sold on QVC. But in the early days of the pandemic, as the world rushed to secure personal protective equipment in short supply, the company (or a subsidiary) pivoted and began contracting with governments to sell masks, ventilators, and, eventually, at-home COVID tests. The company’s connection to Hochul is evident in state campaign finance records. Charlie Tebele is Digital Gadgets’ founder and CEO. He and his family have given more than $290,000 to Hochul’s election campaign, with Tebele himself giving the maximum individual contribution of $69,700. That includes more than $9,000 in "in-kind" contributions — money Tebele apparently spent hosting fundraisers in November and April for the Democratic governor, [according to the Albany Times Union](. What did New York pay Digital Gadgets for these tests? [Spending records]( show the New York State Department of Health sent a total of $637 million to Digital Gadgets for the tests made by the brand Access Bio. That works out to a cost of $12.25 a test — not far off from the in-store price for many COVID at-home tests that aren’t purchased in massive bulk. (The Times Union reported that California purchased the same brand but directly from Access Bio.) Another key piece of information: The health department purchased the tests from Digital Gadgets without having to follow state’s normal safeguards — including competitive bidding, which would have required a process for soliciting offers from any vendors interested in providing the tests. That’s because Hochul issued a new state of emergency on November 26th — at the onset of the omicron wave, and four days after Tebele’s first in-kind contribution — that allowed her to suspend the state’s contracting rules to purchase supplies related to the pandemic. So is this pay to play? Was Hochul rewarding a donor? Hochul first addressed the controversy back in July, saying that New York needed a huge amount of tests in a quick period of time, and Digital Gadgets "could meet that need at the time that allowed us to deliver critically important test kits when nobody else, including the federal government, could get their hands on them." The governor also said that at the time of the test purchases, she was "not aware that [Digital Gadgets] was a company that had been supportive of me" — despite the fact that Tebele had already hosted a fundraiser for her by that point. Last week, Hochul added that she had in place an additional safeguard that differentiates her from her immediate predecessors: She bans her government staff from attending her campaign fundraisers. Republicans, meanwhile, aren't buying it. On top of [Zeldin's new "Kickback Kathy" ad]( New York’s Republican congressional delegation sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, [asking him to investigate the Digital Gadgets deal](. [Read more here](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- [Ad: Get tickets for the New Jersey Symphony's Jaws in concert October 28th through 30th]( Sponsored Message --------------------------------------------------------------- More political headlines this week: [a Board of Elections staffer holds up two ballots] [NY Republican, Conservative Parties sue to upend absentee ballot counting in general election]( Just weeks before Election Day, the parties are attempting to kill a recent law that allows people to vote absentee if they fear contracting COVID-19. [Pro-Trump demonstrators stand in Orchard Beach to protest a tent for asylum seekers] [In the Bronx, Republicans and Democrats came out against 'tent city' for asylum seekers]( Democratic protesters on Monday said they feared the Orchard Beach tents would flood, while Republicans chanted, "Send them back to where they came from!" (Hours later, [Mayor Adams announced an abrupt change]( The Orchard Beach lot had flooded, so Randall's Island would host the emergency relief center.) [NJ Congressional candidate Tom Kean Jr. speaks at an event hosted by the Jewish Federation of Somerset, Hunterdon, and Warren Counties.] [GOP House candidate Tom Kean Jr. offers a confusing answer on abortion]( Kean, who's running in a tight race in New Jersey's 7th congressional district, said Sunday that he supports "reasonable restrictions" on abortion — then said on Monday that he misspoke. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- [Ad: Get tickets for the New Jersey Symphony's Jaws in concert October 28th through 30th]( Sponsored Message [the logo for The People's Guide to Power] [The power of Puerto Rico and the Latino vote in New York]( Mayor Eric Adams has described Puerto Rico as New York City's "sixth borough." 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