A Queens candidate all but guaranteed to win a New York State Assembly seat asked the public for rent money weeks before his $142,000 salary was set to begin.
Quick Take
- Brian Romero, the Democratic nominee for New York’s 34th Assembly District, launched a GoFundMe seeking $2,000 for rent and groceries.
- He faces no Republican opponent in November, making him a near-certain winner of a seat paying $142,000 a year.
- Romero took the fundraiser down, called it a mistake, and said he never kept any of the money raised.
- The page had collected just over $1,000 before it disappeared, according to reporting on the campaign.
A Fundraiser Appears Before Election Day
Brian Romero worked as a legislative aide before running unopposed for a State Assembly seat covering part of Queens. With no Republican challenger, he is set to win the seat in November’s election. Before that happens, he set up a GoFundMe page asking supporters to cover his rent and groceries while he waited for his new government paycheck.
The fundraiser’s own wording, according to reporting, said Romero had “saved for months to get by” but had “now depleted my savings.” He set a goal of $2,000. The page was live and collecting donations from the public right up until Romero removed it.
Salary Math Fuels the Backlash
New York Assembly members earn $142,000 a year, a salary Romero was on track to start collecting once he takes office. That contrast, a public plea for grocery money next to a six-figure government job about to begin, is what turned a small fundraiser into a national story. Critics online quickly seized on the gap between the ask and the paycheck waiting just around the corner.
Romero has described himself as a democratic socialist, which added another layer to the criticism. Online commentators pointed to a similar episode involving another New York lawmaker who also used crowdfunding for personal expenses, arguing it reflects a pattern rather than a one-off mistake. Nothing in the record shows any rule was broken, but the optics drew sharp reaction from across the political spectrum.
Romero Says He Kept Nothing and Calls It a Mistake
Romero told reporters he took the page down quickly, in consultation with friends, and labeled the whole thing a mistake. He said he did not keep any of the funds that came in and that the campaign was closed without accepting money. No records have surfaced showing refunds, transfers, or payouts, so his account of what happened to the roughly $1,000 raised has not been independently verified.
Socialist Brian Romero, New York's 34th Assembly District, started a GoFundMe campaign which sought $2,000 to help with living expenses.@Brianr4NY
— Latinos_Against_Illegals (@ChrisTampa55) August 2, 2026
GoFundMe’s own platform rules explain why the page could raise money so fast. Once a fundraiser launches, it goes live immediately and can start collecting donations right away, without needing to hit its goal first. That means Romero’s request reached the public the moment he posted it, which is exactly what triggered the wave of screenshots and criticism once people noticed.
A Broader Pattern of Public Money Requests
This is not the first time a New York politician has turned to crowdfunding for personal costs. Online critics referenced Brooklyn Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher’s past use of GoFundMe for similar reasons, framing Romero’s campaign as part of a repeated habit rather than an isolated slip. Whether fair or not, the comparison shaped how fast the story spread and how harshly it was judged.
The episode lands at a moment when trust in elected officials, regardless of party, is already thin. Voters on the left and right alike often say politicians seem more focused on their own comfort than on the people they represent. A fundraiser for rent money from a man about to earn $142,000 a year struck many as exactly that kind of disconnect, even though Romero says he never took a dollar of it.
What Remains Unconfirmed
No payroll records, swearing-in documents, or bank statements have been made public to confirm exactly when Romero’s Assembly salary begins or whether his savings claim holds up. His statement that he kept no donations has not been checked against GoFundMe transaction records. Those gaps mean key details rest on his word for now, even as the broader facts of the fundraiser’s existence and removal are well established.
