Downplaying a Cuomo query
Mccoy says support for governor not focus of talk with Schwartz
Albany County Executive Dan Mccoy confirmed Monday that the head of the state’s vaccination effort called him to ask about his support for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, a fellow Democrat beset by allegations of sexual harassment and a coverup of nursing home deaths.
Mccoy said he received a call from Larry Schwartz, a former aide to Cuomo who’s leading the state’s vaccination program, and was “briefly” asked about his support for the governor. But unlike some other county executives, Mccoy — who has been largely uncritical of the administration over its handling of the pandemic — suggested he found nothing inappropriate about Schwartz’s phone call as the two often go from “one conversation to the next to the next” when they talk.
“Briefly, you know, (he) asked where I stood,” Mccoy said. “And I think I answered that
question.”
Over the weekend, The New York Times and Washington Post reported that Schwartz has been asking Democratic county executives to support an embattled Cuomo during calls in which he also discussed vaccine matters. One executive, who was not named in the reports, said they feared their county’s vaccine supply might suffer if they didn’t signal support for the governor, who is facing growing calls to resign as more women come forward with sexual harassment allegations.
The executive filed notice of an impending ethics complaint with the public integrity unit of the state attorney general’s office on Friday, the newspapers reported.
The governor’s acting counsel, Beth Garvey, issued a statement Monday denying that Schwartz raised the issue of vaccines on the calls and claiming he “would never link political support to public health decisions.”
“Distorting Larry’s role or intentions for headlines maligns a decades-long public servant who has done nothing but volunteer around the clock since March to help New York get through the COVID pandemic,” she said. “Any suggestion that Larry acted in any way unethically or in any way other than in the best interest of the New Yorkers that he selflessly served is patently false.”
Most of New York’s congressional Democrats, as well as Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, have called on Cuomo to resign as the scandals around his administration have grown.
Mccoy, to date, has not called for the governor’s resignation. He has previously stated that an independent investigation into the claims should be conducted and reiterated that sentiment at a COVID-19 briefing Monday, adding that “as a dad with two daughters” he believes the women who’ve come forward should be heard.
He also explained Monday what it would take for him to call for Cuomo’s resignation.
“When government gets so derailed then it is time to step aside,” he said. “And my interactions with the state right now has not brought me to that decision. If it gets to that point where I feel that the vaccine or my decisions with the governor’s office or in general are being derailed because of the circumstances he’s in, I will call for him to step down.”
Mccoy drew parallels Monday to the abuse and corruption scandals surrounding former Cohoes Mayor Shawn Morse, who was thrown out of office after pleading guilty to felony wire fraud. Morse had faced multiple allegations of domestic abuse and bullying.
“Listen, karma can be tricky right?” Mccoy said. “And, you know, the governor has called on a lot of people to step down for the same situation he’s in. When this happened to Mayor Morse, I wouldn’t call on him to step down. You know, you’re innocent until proven guilty and you should have your fair day regardless of the situation you’re in. It’s kind of hard when you didn’t give other people the same opportunity to ask for the same standard.”
But Mccoy — along with a host of other local and state politicians, including Cuomo himself — called for Morse to step down in September 2018 while allegations against him were still pending but an investigation had yet to conclude. In a tweet, Mccoy described the allegations of “domestic violence” and “child abuse” as troubling, adding “we join with Governor Cuomo in calling for his immediate resignation.”
The Times Union asked his office Monday why he said he hadn’t called for Morse’s resignation when, in fact, that call is a matter of public record.
Spokeswoman Mary Rozak said Mccoy’s call for Morse to resign came “pretty far down the road” and only after the scandal had begun to impact local governance.
She declined to provide examples on the record of how exactly it was interfering with governance at the time.
“(Mccoy) said should there come a time when he believes that it is interfering with the governor’s ability to govern (that he should resign), just like he did at the time it was interfering with Morse’s ability to govern,” she said.
The statement Mccoy and several others published calling for Morse’s resignation over two years ago said nothing about Morse’s ability to govern; rather, it referred to the “troubling allegations of domestic violence and child abuse” that had been made against him.