Cuomo Faces Mounting Pressure as More Democrat Officials Call for Resignation
As more allegations come out, the governor may find it increasingly difficult to remain in power.
Throughout his years in office, Governor Andrew Cuomo has been able to evade every controversy that has confronted him. However, the past several months have unearthed multiple scandals that might just do him in. Facing both sexual assault allegations and continued outrage over his manipulation of COVID data, Cuomo is facing increasingly loud calls to step down from his post as one of the most powerful political figures in the state.
The collection of officials calling for governor’s resignations has become more and more bipartisan, with many of New York State’s leading Democratic officials pushing for his departure. New York Senate Majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, the top Democratic lawmaker in the state, has voiced her support for his leaving office. She was joined this past Friday by the state’s two U.S Senators, Schumer and Gillibrand, along with the 29-member New York congressional delegation and a majority of Democrats in the state legislature.
The New York State Senate has also decided to open an impeachment inquiry into the allegations, as well as into the mishandling of COVID death statistics in nursing homes. The inquiry could potentially serve as a lethal blow to the governor, who continues to resist demands to step down, calling the suggestions “anti-democratic” and evidence of “cancel culture.”
Currently, five women have come forward with allegations against Cuomo and his inappropriate behavior, several of whom previously served the governor closely. The first allegations came from Lindsey Boylan, a former Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Special Advisor for the Cuomo administration, who detailed in an essay last month the pervasive culture of sexual misconduct created by the governor. The other four women include Charlotte Bennett, a former health policy adviser, and Karen Hinton, who was once one of Cuomo’s top aides.
All survivors detailed encounters with Cuomo that included unwanted physical advances, constant unprofessional comments, as well as little-to-no support from elsewhere in the administration, with the governor’s behavior being condoned by many as “an affirmation that he liked you.”
Both the harassment claims and nursing home deaths have already dealt significant damage to Cuomo’s support, as a Quinnipiac poll released Thursday found that his approval rating has fallen to 45 percent, down almost 30 points from the 72 percent approval he held this time last year.
At the same time, most New Yorkers do not support Cuomo’s outright resignation, with 55 percent of the poll responders saying he should remain in office. The general consensus instead is that he should simply not seek a fourth term, with nearly 60 percent saying they are against his run for office in 2022.
Despite these ongoing problems, the governor remains steadfast in his conviction to focus on other subjects.
“Let’s do the attorney general investigation,” Cuomo stated. “Let’s do the findings and then we go from there. But I’m not going to be distracted by this either. We have to get a budget done in three weeks. We have a lot of work to do, a lot of work to do for this state. This is not about me and accusations about me. The attorney general can handle that. This is about doing the people’s business and this next six months I believe will determine the future trajectory for New York state.”
