With a big lead in the polls and a massive funding apparatus, the former governor is poised to become the frontrunner in a crowded field.

Cuomo released a 17 plus-minute video declaring his candidacy Saturday on his website, newly rebranded as Cuomo for Mayor.

“We have had times when we are at our shining best, and there are times when we struggle and endure great hardship. But we also know we can handle a crisis because we have,” he said. “We recently did it together through COVID,” in a pointed reference to his leadership of the state during the peak of the pandemic.

Cuomo went on to describe a city in turmoil, calling out the experience of seeing mentally ill homeless people, passing empty storefronts and encountering graffiti, the influx of migrants and random violence.

“The city just feels threatening, out of control and in crisis,” he said.

Although Cuomo enters the race with considerable advantages, the former governor will have to overcome major stains on his reputation as he campaigns.

In addition to the sexual harassment finding that led to his resignation, he was accused of covering up the number of COVID-19 deaths involving nursing home deaths residents. And New York’s highest court recently validated a state ethics board that determined that Cuomo improperly used government staffers to help write a book about his response to the pandemic for which we received a $5.1 million advance.

In his video introduction, Cuomo acknowledged that he didn’t “do everything right in my years of government service” and “made mistakes, some painfully.” But he pledged that he had learned from his errors, knows what needs to get done and “will get it done.”

  • spit_evil_olive_tips@beehaw.org
    7·
    8 days ago

    In addition to the sexual harassment finding that led to his resignation

    yet another data point that “cancel culture” doesn’t really exist. people who are “canceled” simply spend a few years out of the public eye, and then return as if nothing ever happened.

    the allegations are so numerous that Cuomo’s main wikipedia page can’t cover them all, it links to a separate Andrew Cuomo sexual harassment allegations page:

    The entire New York congressional delegation, including New York’s two United States Senators, Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and over 120 New York State legislators called for Cuomo’s resignation, as did House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Bill de Blasio, the mayor of New York City, and Eric Adams, the Brooklyn Borough President and Democratic nominee for Mayor of New York City. President Joe Biden stated his support for Attorney General James’s independent investigation; he later called on Cuomo to resign after the investigatory report was released. On August 10, Cuomo announced that he would step down from office in 14 days, making his resignation effective on August 24.

    On January 4, 2022, Albany County District Attorney David Soares dropped a criminal complaint against Cuomo and also announced that Cuomo would not face any other charges related to other groping allegations, citing lack of evidence. Three days later, a judge dropped the criminal charge against Cuomo. On January 31, 2022, the last of five criminal cases that had been pursued against Cuomo were dismissed.

    a lesson that I would really like the legal system to learn (including DAs like David Soares who is supposedly a Democrat) is that if an elected official commits crimes, and then as a result of those crimes is forced to resign, or loses re-election, or is impeached and removed from office, that is not an excuse to say “well, surely he’s suffered enough, it would be kicking him while he’s down to continue prosecuting him for the crimes he committed”

    (see also: Ford pardoning Nixon, Donald Trump, the former mayor here in Seattle, and so on)