Spy Kids: 2016 Jenifer Rajkumar campaign staffers say they were asked to infiltrate rival operations

During her 2016 Democratic primary race for Assembly in lower Manhattan, Jenifer Rajkumar’s campaign instructed high-school- and college-aged interns and volunteers to spy on rival operations, three former campaign workers told City & State, a practice that could run afoul of the state Board of Elections ethics code.

“We actually recruited volunteers who would be – this is the word she used – they would be ‘spies’ that would be sent to volunteer for other Assembly campaigns, and then they would be snapping pictures of their daily schedules in the respective candidates’ offices,” said Rohan Narine, who served as deputy campaign manager for Rajkumar at the time. “They would have to report back to us at like 9 or 10 p.m. after they volunteered for the competitors’ campaigns.” 

Narine said he remembered one campaign worker sending back blurry photos from inside the campaign office of rival Paul Newell, but he didn’t have the photos saved.

“It put these volunteers, who are mainly college kids, under a lot of stress because they didn't really know how to be themselves, working or volunteering for us while they were in other candidates’ offices,” Narine said. “But you know, Rajkumar loved to play the opposition research game by actually planting physical people in other campaign offices.” 

Asked about the alleged spying, campaign spokesperson Arvind Sooknanan said: “Just another sexist and absurd attempt to tarnish the image of the only woman of color running for citywide office this year.”

Narine, Rajkumar’s former deputy campaign manager, went on to work in the de Blasio administration as a liaison to the South Asian community. He continued in a similar capacity under the Adams administration but was let go in 2022. He has an ax to grind with Rajkumar, as he said he suspects she had something to do with his dismissal.

City & State independently spoke to two additional former campaign workers, who asked for anonymity to speak candidly about their experiences as young people on Rajkumar’s 2016 campaign. Both confirmed the practice of using volunteers to gather information about rival campaigns through deceit. The two former workers said they were directly asked by the Rajkumar campaign to infiltrate opposing campaigns, which they refused to do. “I was thinking, I’m already working for you for free, and you think I’ll go work for someone else for free AND still report back to you??? It was utterly ridiculous,” one of the former campaign volunteers said in a text. 

The other former campaign worker said that Rajkumar’s campaign instructed young people to pose as prospective volunteers for other campaigns. If they received job interviews from rival campaigns, they were told to ask recruiters about specific topics, including the rival campaigns’ field operations. The former worker said that multiple young people working for the campaign were uncomfortable with the task, and some refused or pushed back, but campaign leadership proceeded with the strategy anyway. The former worker remembered two people who went to rival campaigns and relayed information back.

“Jenifer Rajkumar herself did not ask me to do it, but her campaign manager, campaign leadership at the time did, and it was my understanding that they had her blessing,” the former worker said.

A fourth Rajkumar campaign worker said they did not recall young people being asked to spy, but added they “would not be surprised” if it had occurred. “The campaign was unprofessional, ragtag, rudderless and chaotic,” this former campaign worker recalled.

Indeed, the campaign was run by relatively inexperienced young people. In an essay about the experience, campaign manager Samantha Gursky said she took the job shortly after she finished college in January 2016. According to his LinkedIn profile, campaign “Executive Director” Junyan Wu never worked for another political campaign before or after Rajkumar’s. Gursky declined to comment, and Wu did not respond to a request for comment. Public filings show that the campaign spent about $224,000.

Rajkumar lost that primary eight years ago, coming in a distant second to Yuh-Line Niou. She later moved to southern Queens, where she won an Assembly race in 2020. Her tenure as an Assembly member has been marked by frequent appearances with New York City Mayor Eric Adams all over the city, and she is now recognized as one of his surrogates and most loyal allies. She has notched several legislative victories in the Assembly, including designating Diwali as a school holiday in New York City and cracking down on illegal marijuana shops. Earlier this month, she officially launched a campaign for New York City comptroller. 

The alleged surveillance of other campaigns in 2016 may have violated New York’s “Fair Campaign Code,” a list of ethics standards set forth by the state Board of Elections. The Fair Campaign Code states: “No person, political party or committee during the course of any campaign for nomination or election to public office or party position shall, directly or indirectly, … (engage in) Practices of political espionage including, but not limited to, the theft of campaign materials or assets, placing one's own employee or agent in the campaign organization of another candidate, bribery of members of another's campaign staff, electronic or other methods of eavesdropping or wiretapping.” It’s unclear what the penalties for “Fair Campaign Code” violations are. An inquiry to the state Board of Elections was referred to the Division of Election Law Enforcement, which did not return a request for comment. 

“Spying is the world’s second-oldest profession, and it’s hardly a surprise that such conduct extends to New York political campaigns,” said New York City election attorney Aaron Foldenauer, who also ran for mayor in 2021. “Where a purported campaign volunteer who’s actually a spy provides high-level intel to an opposing campaign, such conduct likely falls within a legal gray area which, while unethical, the criminal justice system is not practically equipped to deter.”

Reached by phone, former candidate Newell said he was not aware of any moles in his operation. Niou said she remembered working with young campaign volunteers who said that they had also worked for other campaigns, but she said she didn’t suspect them of being spies.