New York Democratic mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner is having such a tough time generating support that he has resorted to paying people to act as “supporters” at some of his events, a source tells the New York Post.
According to the Post’s report, some of Weiner’s crowds are paid actors. At one event on Aug. 11 at the Dominican Day Parade, the actors were paid $15 an hour by the California-based firm Crowds on Demand.
The Post claims that the Weiner campaign approached the crowd-herding company following the infamous Sydney Leathers revelation, that Weiner continued his sexting dalliances even after resigning from Congress for similar transgressions.
The source tells the Post that Weiner’s campaign has used Crowds on Demand “several times,” requesting that the actors appear to be “either supporters or people who met him and became supporters as a result of that encounter.”
The campaign initially tried to get the company to tamp down hecklers, but the company refused over liability concerns, the source tells The Post.
The Weiner campaign has denied hiring Crowds on Demand, with spokeswoman Barbara Morgan telling the Post, “We’ve never heard of this company and certainly never used them. We are proud we’ve always had the biggest and most fired-up crowds. That’s enthusiasm the other campaigns just can’t buy.”