PARTY’S OVER!
After he vows, ‘There is no way I resign,’ top Dems call for Cuomo to quit
ALBANY — In a stunning sign of defiance, the highest-ranking Democrats in the state Legislature questioned Gov. Cuomo’s “ability to continue to lead” on Sunday and called on him to step down amid ballooning scandals and mounting sexual harassment claims.
Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers) and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie made the unprecedented move just hours after the Democratic governor painted calls for his ouster as politically motivated.
Stewart-Cousins, who last week said she would back efforts to oust the governor should more women come forward, said the swirling scandals centered around Cuomo’s behavior and the state’s handling of nursing homes during the pandemic have become too much of a distraction.
“New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health and economic impacts of it,” Stewart-Cousins said in a statement. “We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state Gov. Cuomo must resign.”
Heastie quickly issued his own statement echoing Stewart-Cousins’ sentiment, but not outright calling for his resignation.
“We have many challenges to address, and I think it is time for the governor to seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York,” he said.
The pair have at times clashed with the governor since Dems gained full control of the Legislature in 2018, but neither have made such a full-throated rebuke of the most powerful man in New York politics.
Cuomo’s fellow Dems have increasingly turned against the governor as five women came forward in recent weeks claiming he either made inappropriate comments or unwanted advances toward them. Four of them are former aides or advisers who say he also fostered a toxic work environment that belittled women.
Attorney General Letitia James’ office is overseeing a review of the allegations against the governor, who became a national star last year thanks to his daily televised COVID briefings.
The embattled executive is facing the most politically precarious moment of his public career as criticisms also mount over his administration’s refusal to disclose the true number of nursing home coronavirus deaths last year and stonewalling lawmakers’ requests for the data.
Earlier in the day, a combative
Cuomo dug in his heels and lashed out at critics, saying the “premise of resigning because of allegations is actually anti-democratic” after two more women came forward over the weekend.
“There is no way I resign,” he said during an afternoon call with reporters.
Cuomo suggested some of the claims against him lacked credibility and reiterated his request for New Yorkers to reserve judgment until the completion of James’ independent investigation.
“The system is based on due process and the credibility of the allegation,” he said. “Let the attorney general do her job … and that will be due process and then we’ll have the facts.”
In 2018, Cuomo himself called for then-AG Eric Schneiderman to resign in the wake of news reports detailing the disgraced pol’s abusive behavior toward several women.
The governor went on to reject allegations made by Karen Hinton, a former staffer who worked with him during his days as federal Housing and Urban Development secretary.
Hinton says Cuomo once summoned her to his “dimly lit” hotel room during a trip. The pair talked about their personal lives for a while and, Hinton told the Washington Post, when she tried to leave, Cuomo embraced her and pulled her back to him when she pulled away.
She described the hug as “too long, too tight, too intimate.”
Cuomo claims the incident never happened.
“Every woman has a right to come forward, that’s true, but the truth also matters. What she said is not true,” he said on Sunday. “She has been a longtime political adversary of mine, highly critical for many, many years, and has made many, many accusations.”
In response to claims from former aide Ana Liss, who says the governor at different times asked her if she had a boyfriend, touched her on her lower back when posing for a photo and kissed her hand as she rose from her desk, Cuomo said he takes photos at hundreds of events, but he never meant to make “anyone feel uncomfortable in any way. If customs change, I’ll change my customs and behavior.”
That sentiment echoes highly criticized comments he made on Wednesday when he said he “now fully understand that I acted in a way that made people uncomfortable.”
“It was unintentional and I truly and deeply apologize for it. I feel awful about it and frankly, I am embarrassed by it,” he added.
However, former aide Charlotte Bennett, 25, who has called the governor a “textbook abuser” and claims he came on to her during a one-on-one meeting at the height of the pandemic last year, rejected his apology.
Bennett, Liss and Hinton all came forward after former Cuomo adviser Lindsey Boylan accused the 63-year-old of kissing her on the mouth without her consent during a meeting at his Manhattan office.
Another woman, Anna Ruch, 33, alleges the governor made unwanted advances toward her and planted an unsolicited kiss on her cheek at a 2019 wedding.
Cuomo says he “never inappropriately touched anybody.”
The extraordinary comments from Stewart-Cousins and Heastie come as legislative staffers and the governor’s office prepare to spend the next three weeks embroiled in intense budget negotiations ahead of the state’s April 1 fiscal deadline.
While a handful of Republicans and Cuomo’s fellow Democrats have already said he should leave office, the legislative leaders’ position will undoubtedly ratchet up the tensions in the capital.
Before his briefing, Cuomo told Stewart-Cousins on a call that he has no plans to quit and lawmakers will have to impeach him if they want him out of office, according to a report from The Associated Press.
A spokesman for the governor pointed back to his comments earlier in the day when asked about Stewart-Cousins’ statement as a wave of Senate Dems joined her call.
“I stand with you in calling for Gov. Cuomo to resign so we can move our state forward,” said Sen. Michael Gianaris (D-Queens), the second-ranking member in the chamber.