Really, New York City, You Might Want Andrew Cuomo Back Again?
Ugh, thought we were rid of him!
New York City has a primary for mayor on June 24, and because the Republican brand is about as popular there as poo on a stick, the Democratic primary is expected to determine the outcome. And Andrew Cuomo is currently the frontrunner by a mile. That guy again? Really?!
The beleaguered incumbent Eric Adams may or may not be running again. He claims that he is, but he has no campaign manager and has held no events, and his approval rating is swirling the crapper at 20 percent, what with him being the first sitting mayor of New York to face criminal indictment, and also how he’s now Donald Trump’s new BFF/extorted hostage and all.
And Adams just can’t help being loathsome! His response yesterday to the arrest of Columbia grad student and Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil was to shrug off that it’s the federal government’s job to deport people. Then he turned around and complained that he thought reporters were more supportive of Khalil than himself. Just, really?
“What I’m finding surprising is the level of support you’re all displaying, but I didn’t see that support for me even after we saw the emails and text messages that there’s a potential that this is politically motivated. So if you’re about justice, don’t be inconsistent in your call for justice.”
And UGH, now here comes Andrew Cuomo again! You may or may not recall that he was the three-term governor of the state three years ago. And he was reportedly on the short list as attorney general for the Biden administration, until he was accused of being a sex pest, and harassing 13 women with unwanted kissing, groping, and urging of games of strip poker. Cuomo denied doing anything wrong, then issued the old sorry-not-sorry, that some things he did may “have been misinterpreted as an unwanted flirtation,” and “to the extent anyone felt that way, I am truly sorry about that.” He eventually resigned as governor, but only after it was clear that the Assembly and state Senate had the votes to impeach him.
And the sex-peskery was not Cuomo’s only issue! He was known for ruling Albany “through intimidation and fear,” with a right-hand woman, Melissa DeRosa, who kept a running enemies list that a reporter said “would make Richard Nixon blush.” DeRosa and Cuomo’s staff set themselves to digging up dirt on the women who accused Cuomo of harassment, Harvey-Weinstein style, including delving through their state personnel files. Then they leaked attempted-gotchas to reporters, including Andrew’s brother Chris, who was a reporter at CNN at the time. That dirty dealing got Chris fired.
And then there were the COVID nursing home deaths. In March of 2020 Cuomo ordered nursing homes to accept residents with COVID, which led to 4,500 infected patients being admitted, and contributed to an estimated 6,000 more deaths. Then an investigation from Attorney General Leticia James found that those deaths were undercounted and purposefully not reported, which DeRosa admitted, saying that they did not want Trump to use the deaths as a “giant political football.”
Related, a very poignant documentary about that.
But Cuomo is apparently much more Trump-cozy now. He went on Stephen Smith’s talk show where he vowed to “take on the progressives” who he said are not actually progressive any more, but “anti-semitic,” anti-police, and just love leaving homeless people on the street. He accused the Biden administration of “open borders” and praised his fellow “Queens boy” Trump for “closing” the border. “He knows our situation, he knows the situation in New York City. [...] If you’re an optimist, you’re going to say that he knows New York and he wants to help.”
Barf emoji.
Cuomo’s also said he wants to get rid of bike lanes and regulate e-bikes, and his campaign treasurer, Kristofer Graham, worked on an anti-trans “Save Girls’ Sports” effort. What about this guy is a Democrat?
New York has ranked-choice voting, where voters can pick as many as a top five. Or, they can pick one and not rank anyone at all. A recent Emerson college poll shows Cuomo with 33 percent support, second place is “undecided” at 25 percent, Adams is at 10 percent, and all of the other candidates are single digits: former Comptroller Scott Stringer is at 8 percent, and state Senator Jessica Ramos, Comptroller Brad Lander, and state Senator Zellnor Myrie are all polling at 6 percent. So Cuomo’s got a commanding lead, but the primary is also 104 days away. That’s plenty more time for a big scandal to come up, especially when the two top choices are those guys. Come on, New York, is there really no one better? Pete Davidson? A subway rat dragging a piece of pizza? Times Square naked cowboy? Anyone? Anyone?
[New York Magazine archive link: “The Race to Outrank Cuomo” / New York Magazine archive link: “Melissa DeRosa’s Revenge Campaign”/ New Yorker archive link /Gothamist]
I really am getting out of NYC at the right time.
I nominate Ziggy Wiggy for Mayor.