By Jill Colvin
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Brash Buffalo billionaire Carl Paladino isn't in it for the money.
In an interview Tuesday evening, Republican gubernatorial candidate Paladino told the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle that if he beats Democratic challenger Andrew Cuomo, he plans to work for free.
"If I had to take the salary, I'd donate it," Paladino told the paper. "When I say donate it, I mean the whole thing. I think there are a lot of worthy causes that could use the money."
The job comes with a $179,000 salary, the paper noted.
Other moneyed politicians, including Mayor Michael Bloomberg, have also boasted of forgoing their paychecks.
But a new poll shows that Paladino is unlikely to have a shot at declining the pay.
A Siena Research Institute poll released Tuesday shows Cuomo leading Paladino 56 percent to 32 percent among likely voters. In New York City, Cuomo’s lead is even greater, at 70 percent.
More than 60 percent of those polled agreed with the description of Paladino as "a loose cannon, who doesn’t have the temperament to be governor," following his much-publicized shouting match last week with a reporter upstate.
"While Paladino has quickly become very well known among New York voters, it is not in a good way," Siena pollster Steven Greenberg said in a statement.
"With four weeks until voters go to the polls, Cuomo remains in a very strong position to be elected New York’s next governor," he added.
