Governor Andrew Cuomo (Photo Don Pollard/ Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)
March 12, 2021 By Allie Griffin
Governor Andrew Cuomo refused to step down Friday despite mounting calls for his resignation from powerful federal lawmakers after six women accused him of sexual harassment.
The vast majority of the Democratic members of New York’s congressional delegation — including several from Queens — called for Cuomo to resign in a flurry of statements Friday morning.
Queens Congress Members Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Grace Meng and Carolyn Maloney all demanded Cuomo resign this morning along with Congress Member Jerrold Nadler — the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee and one of the highest-ranking members of Congress.
“The challenges facing our state and New Yorkers are unprecedented, and I believe [Cuomo] is unable to govern effectively,” Meng said in a statement. “The Governor should resign for the good of our state.”
The calls for Cuomo’s resignation follow a report published by the Albany Times Union Wednesday in which a young female staffer said Cuomo groped her underneath her blouse during a meeting at the Executive Mansion late last year. She is the sixth woman to accuse the governor of inappropriate behavior.
Cuomo flatly denied the allegation during a conference call with reporters Friday.
“I did not do what has been alleged. Period,” he said.
The state attorney general is leading an investigation into the multiple allegations Cuomo now faces.
On Friday, Cuomo characterized the lawmakers seeking his resignation as “reckless and dangerous.” He said that they should wait until the results of the attorney general’s investigation are released.
He claimed their calls for him to step down were a result of “playing politics [and] bowing to cancel culture.”
“The people of New York should not have confidence in a politician who takes a position without knowing any facts or substance,” Cuomo said during the conference call. “That, my friends, is politics at its worst.”
The governor said that he supports a woman’s right to come forward, but later added that both his accusers and the legislators seeking his resignation may have political motives.
Thus far, Democratic Congress Members Ocasio-Cortez, Meng, Maloney, Nadler, Kathleen Rice, Yvette Clarke, Antonio Delgado, Mondaire Jones, Adriano Espaillat, Nydia Velázquez, Jamaal Bowman, Brian Higgins, Sean Patrick Maloney and Paul Tonko have called on Cuomo to resign.
Velázquez who represents Brooklyn in Congress also represents a small portion of Queens.
Meanwhile, Congress Member Tom Suozzi, whose district includes parts of Queens and Long Island, released a more moderate statement following Cuomo’s 1 p.m. call with reporters.
Suozzi said Cuomo should resign if he cannot effectively govern amid the controversy enveloping his administration.
“I believe the Governor must seriously consider whether he can effectively continue to govern in the midst of these unfolding allegations,” he said in a statement. “If he cannot effectively govern with all of the controversy surrounding him, he must put the interests of all New Yorkers first and he should resign.”
Southeast Queens Congress Member Gregory Meeks has not called on Cuomo to resign. Brooklyn Congress Member Hakeem Jeffries, whose district includes a small part of Queens, has not called for his resignation either.
On Thursday, more than 55 state legislators, including 14 from Queens, called for Cuomo’s resignation.
The governor urged New Yorkers to wait for the result of the attorney general’s investigation before passing judgement and waved off the calls for his resignation.
“Let the review proceed. I’m not going to resign,” Cuomo said. “I was not elected by the politicians; I was elected by the people.”
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6 Comments
Don’t step down. You were innocent until proven guilty.
Innocent until proven guilty. Cuomo may indeed be an abrasive bully who has made a lot of politcial enemies along the way, but that in and of itself is not a crime. If it was, dear old grab-em-by-the $%& % Donald Trimp should have been “locked up” years ago. Allegations are just that, and if there is no proof, then we cannot ruin a man’s career on the sole basis of unproven allegations –or sunstantiated allegatins that do not rise to the level of dismssal or impeachment or crimes. The only thing worse that the criminal harassment of woman is a rush to judgement about such alleged harassment allegations. Due process, not a rush to jdgement –especially at this crucial juntion of the pandemic, when we need strong leadership. And Cuomo has shown that he can provide just that type of leadership. He is a fighter by nature, and if in his heart he believes and knows that he has done no wrong then he should fight like hell.
p.s. As for the nutsing home so-called scandal: in the height of the pandemic, when no one knew how much our hospitals were going to be overwhemed, with emergenct hospital ships in our harbor, and hospital tents set up in Central Park, what alternative did Cuomo have but to sent recovering elderly Covid patents back to nursing homes that wanted to refuse them? It was a Sophie’s choice between further overburdening already strained hospitals, or forcing nursing homes to take the proper precautions and take back and care for their recovering Covid hospital patients as best they could. It was an impossible choice, under impossible & unpreidented condtions, and we all need to learn hard lessons from that nightmare scenario, to better prepare for the next pandemic. The politicians did not elect Cuomo, and unless he is proven criminally guilty, then the voters can reject him in next year’s election if they so choose.
The alleged behavior by Governor Cuomo is reprehensible, and if proven after the official investigation just announced by NY State Attorney General James is concluded, deserving of his censor and removal from office. Let the investigation ensure that all parties involved are given a fair opportunity to present their side. All the pertinent facts will inevitably emerge, and those facts should be the deciding factor on whether or not Mr. Cuomo remains in office.
First off, the allegations are from SEVEN WOMEN who worked for him. SEVEN!!! THey all seem credible, without over the top accusations. His bullying has to be considered as well. And we’ve all seen that side of him in public, so surely that is believable. But, while these sex harassment claims are enough to call for him to resign, the bigger problem is the nursing home coverup. It’s clear he knew the numbers and you know the rest of his administration wouldn’t sp much as fart without his approval. So he KNEW!!! And covered it up. He sentenced thousands of seniors in nursing homes to their deaths by jamming them with Covid patients. At the time he made that call there were still empty beds in hospitals and the Javits Center as well as the hospital ship were nearly empty. You just know they didn’t want to use those Federally (Trump) provided resources so as to not give him any credit. Lastly this whole innocent till proven guilty tactic is certainly fine when it involves a court trial. This isn’t a court trial, it’s about a man who cannot govern the state honestly. If this were the private sector He would already have resigned because he would be forced to. How much more proof does anyone need to see to figure out what and who this guy is??? Helen Keller would be able to see this guy is no good and acts like a Mafia Don. Time for him to go.
He should NOT resign. He is owed due process. We have only heard the allegations. He’s a good Governor.
The Governor is directly responsible for the covid deaths of more than 15,000 nursing home residents.