Once again there is a bipartisan chorus of calls — from throughout New York state and even from the White House — for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign after Tuesday’s release of a report detailing substantiated sexual harassment allegations against him from 11 women, many of whom worked for him.
Allegations against the governor appeared extensive and detailed months ago, too, leading to a similar crescendo of biartisan condemnation and calls for a resignation — although the fervency of the moment faded.
On Tuesday we learned more. Cuomo allegedly harassed a female state trooper on his security detail. According to the report that was overseen by state Attorney General Letitia James, the trooper said Cuomo ran his hand or fingers across her stomach and her back, kissed her on the cheek, asked for her help in finding a girlfriend and asked why she didn’t wear a dress. The report also included an allegation from a woman working for an energy company who said Cuomo touched her chest at an event and brushed his hand between her shoulder and breasts.
As a result of the report, district attorneys in downstate where some of the alleged harassment incidents occurred are even contemplating criminal charges against Cuomo.
Nevertheless, the governor is proving the adage that one cannot shame the shameless.
Cuomo has remained defiant as ever, releasing a taped response disputing the report and saying “the facts are much different than what has been portrayed” and that he “never touched anyone inappropriately or made inappropriate sexual advances.” He also alleged that the investigation itself was fueled by “politics and bias,” while suggesting at least some of the incidents were misunderstandings caused by generational and cultural differences — i.e., that Italian Americans are demonstrative people and perhaps can get carried away regarding physical contact.
His video included slideshows of Cuomo and other politicians embracing members of the public, a gesture he says was inherited from his parents.
Resign? Cuomo has insisted he’ll seek an unprecedented fourth term in 2022, and while his fundraising efforts have dipped somewhat this year because of the scandals that dog him, he has an $18 million campaign war chest. U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-Long Island, the presumptive Republican candidate, reported $3.2 million in campaign funds last month.
It’s not as if Cuomo is only trying to brush aside damning sexual harassment allegations. James is also investigating whether Cuomo broke the law in having members of his staff help write his book, “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the COVID-19 Pandemic,” for which he was set to earn more than $5 million. Federal investigators are also probing his administration’s handling of data related to nursing home deaths.
There are also alleged anciliary episodes of bullying and power plays on the part of what appears more and more like a cartoonish Team Cuomo, along with alleged favoritism for family members and powerful friends regarding COVID-19 testing during the pandemic.
And on and on.
But, no, even though he should — for the good of the state and for the women he’s hurt — Andrew Cuomo isn’t going to willingly release his increasingly desperate grip on the governor’s mansion.
At least impeachment is more of a possibility than it was a week ago. A majority of state Assembly members support beginning impeachment proceedings, the Associated Press reported Wednesday. At least 86 of the body’s 150 members have said publicly or told The AP that they favored initiating the process of ousting the third-term Democratic governor if he doesn’t resign. It takes a simple majority to authorize an impeachment trial, AP noted.
Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, a Bronx Democrat, had shown little appetite for moving forcefully on impeachment proceedings before Tuesday, but the stakes and urgency were raised by the release of James’ report. AP reported Wednesday that many Democrats in the Senate — no doubt seeing the governor as a toxic political liability moving forward — would swiftly try Cuomo if the Democrat-controlled Assembly were to send over articles of impeachment.
If impeachment falters — and don’t bet the farm that it can’t — perhaps it will come down to judgment by the state’s voters.
Almost 60% of New Yorkers say Cuomo should step down after Tuesday’s report release, according to a Marist poll. If Cuomo doesn’t step down, the 59% of adults think the State Legislature should impeach him, while just 28% think the legislative body shouldn’t. Only 11%, including 18% of registered Democrats in New York, believe that Cuomo “deserves” to be reelected, according to the poll.
But there’s also this: Only 52% of Democrats, according to the poll, actually believe Cuomo should resign after Tuesday’s news. Again, if he holds on, at least some of the feeling against him is likely to dissipate. A clear Democratic challenger hasn’t emerged — although many are pointing to James — so it’s difficult to weigh Cuomo’s prospects against a strong primary challenge. Meanwhile, despite Cuomo’s disastrous, infamous year, a Republican would still face an uphill battle against him.
If the governor is given the opportunity to play the long game into 2022, can it be four more years of Andrew Cuomo? Sadly, even stunningly, it still doesn’t seem impossible.
(Jim Eckstrom is editor of the Olean Times Herald and Bradford Publishing Co. His email is jeckstrom@oleantimesherald.com.)
