According to a source who attended, the Westchester County Republican Party breakfast fundraiser this morning for county executive Rob Astorino was graced by a surprising guest: Marc Cenedella, the CEO of the job-hunting site TheLadders.com.
Mr. Cenedella has been seen in recent days as an increasingly serious challenger to Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. According to the source, he was spotted at the fundraiser chatting up Westchester County Conservative Party Chairman Hugh Fox.
The breakfast was a $45-per-head fundraiser at the DoubleTree in Tarrytown and supposed to celebrate the GOP’s victories in the November election, which saw the Republicans break a Democratic super-majority on the Westchester county legislature.
The race for the GOP nomination to take on Ms. Gillibrand remains pretty thin at this point. George Maragos, the Nassau County comptroller, remains the only declared for a race that is less than a year away. Harry Wilson, a business executive and former member of President Barack Obama’s auto bailout task force, is said to be taking a look but has seemed disinclined to make another run after losing to Comptroller Tom DiNapoli last year. Daniel Rubino, another CEO, is also taking a look at the race.
Mr. Astorino meanwhile may be looking at a statewide run in his own right. He faces re-election in the Democratic leaning county in 2013, but could challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo in 2014.
