Andrew Cuomo (New York Governor) has announced he will resign following a scathing report from the state’s attorney general concluding the third-term Democrat sexually harassed 11 women, and in one instance, sought to retaliate against one of his accusers who went public with her allegations. BIG YIKES!
If you recall, this time last year, people were praising Cuomo’s leadership through the beginning of the pandemic. People were even saying he should run for President… again, YIKES!
“Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing, and I cannot be the cause of that.. I think that, given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing,”
Cuomo, 63, said in remarks Tuesday from the state capital of Albany.
With Cuomo stepping down, New York will now have its first woman governor. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul is next in line and will become governor. Hochul, who served one term in Congress before Cuomo tapped her to be his running mate in 2014, said in a statement she agreed with the governor’s decision to step down.
Cuomo will leave office on Aug. 24
A 165-page report released last week followed a months-long investigation into Cuomo’s actions and outlined what New York Attorney General Letitia James called violations of both state and federal law. Prosecutors said their findings substantiated allegations from several women — which included unwanted and nonconsensual touching, groping, kissing and sexual comments.
Another aspect to this situation is the “Cuomo name”. There has been a Cuomo in statewide or federal office for 40 of the last 46 years. The governor’s resignation will mark an end to a nearly half-century political dynasty. His father, Mario, a former three-term governor, is revered in the state. Cuomo got his start in politics as a volunteer on his father’s campaign for lieutenant governor when he was 16. In 1982, at 24, he was campaign manager for his father’s first successful run for governor. When his father was governor, Cuomo then started a nonprofit in the 1980s to help build housing for the homeless, which drew the attention of national political figures. By the 1990s, Cuomo was secretary of housing and urban development in Bill Clinton’s administration. And he was married to Kerry Kennedy in a marriage the New York tabloids dubbed “Cuomolot,” a play on Camelot, which the Kennedy dynasty is sometimes called.
Talk about shaming the family name smh
In his remarks Tuesday, Andrew Cuomo repeatedly denied the allegations against him and called the report “false.” The most serious allegations, he said, “had no credible factual basis.” He then apologized for offending the women who were included in the report and said he took “full responsibility” for his actions. “I have been too familiar with people. My sense of humor can be insensitive and off-putting. I do hug and kiss people casually, women and men. I have done it all my life,” Cuomo said.
“Too familiar”? ok. As a grown man, it should be common knowledge to just keep your hands to yourself. Especially in professional settings. Weirdo. Since February, at least seven women have come forward to recount unwelcome interactions with Cuomo, including several former aides.
He was elected governor in 2010, and was serving his third term, seeking his fourth, at the time he announced his resignation. Only one person has won four terms as New York state governor — Nelson Rockefeller, who went on to serve as Gerald Ford’s vice president in 1974.
