Progressive group calls on Democratic City Council candidate to return money from Republican donors

A progressive group supporting Democratic New York City Council Member Shahana Hanif’s campaign in a heated Brooklyn primary is calling on her rival to return contributions from donors who have also donated to President Donald Trump and other Republicans.

The letter, authored by Indivisible Brooklyn, which has endorsed Hanif’s campaign, also notes that one of those donors has a much closer connection to Democratic candidate Maya Kornberg than she previously disclosed.  

Kornberg, a senior research fellow at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice, told City & State during a December interview that she had “no relationship” with donor Leonard Blavatnik. The Ukrainian-born billionaire has given prolifically to Republicans – and also to Democrats, though the letter focuses on his donations to Trump’s first inauguration committee and legal defense fund, as well as to congressional Republicans last election cycle and in years past.

But in that interview, Kornberg shaded over a close relationship between Blavatnik and her family. According to a 2019 press report included in the Indivisible letter, Blavatnik jointly owned a biotechnology company with Kornberg’s father, Nobel prize-winning chemist Roger Kornberg, seeded with a $20 million investment agreement by Blavatnik’s medical investment company. The new company, which later became Interna Therapeutics, currently lists Roger as its scientific president and Maya Kornberg’s brother as serving as its chief operating officer. Blavatnik and his wife each gave the $1,050 to Kornberg’s campaign last year – the maximum for council campaigns participating in the city’s matching funds program.

Kornberg’s campaign did offer any comment when pressed on her previous statement that she had no relationship with Blavatnik.

In addition to the Blavatniks, the letter calls out donations to Kornberg’s campaign from billionaire Daniel Loeb, who has donated to both Republicans and moderate Democrats and praised the current Trump administration – and his spouse, among other donors.

“Your acceptance of these substantial contributions from out-of-district Republican megadonors does not align with your professed interest in ‘standing up to Trump’ and is more in keeping with your actual record of standing back,” Indivisible Brooklyn’s letter reads, addressing Kornberg. “We demand that you refund these donations and explain to the Democratic voters of District 39 why you accepted the support of people who attack teachers and unions, bankroll insurrectionists, and push a dangerous MAGA agenda.”

In a response, Kornberg’s campaign accused the group of singling out donations to Republicans from some individuals who have also donated to Democrats. “This is a sad attempt by an outside group who has endorsed Maya’s opponent to try to cover up the fact that voters in this district are desperate for new leadership,” Kornberg campaign manager Sam Boorstyn said in a statement. “They are cherry-picking Maya's donors – the same donors who have given to Nancy Pelosi, Joe Biden, Hakeem Jeffries, Tish James, Jon Ossoff, Ed Markey, and countless other Democrats. Maya is a proud Democrat, supported by the Democratic voters and clubs in the district, including the Independent Neighborhood Democrats and Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats. Maya is proud of her lifelong history of being a fighter for progressive values, democracy, and standing up against Trump for the last ten years.”