As Cuomo exits, he takes swipe at harassment probe
ALBANY, N.Y. — Andrew Cuomo defended his record over a decade as New York’s governor and portrayed himself as the victim of a “media frenzy” Monday as he prepared for a midnight power transfer that will make Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul the state’s first female governor.
Cuomo, a Democrat, was set to end his term at 11:59 p.m., just under two weeks after he announced he would resign rather than face a likely impeachment battle over sexual harassment allegations.
Hochul was scheduled be sworn in just after midnight by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore, in a brief, private ceremony.
In a pre-recorded farewell address released at noon, Cuomo boasted of making government effective in his years in office, cited his work battling the COVID-19 pandemic and struck a defiant tone on the harassment allegations.
He said the report that triggered his resignation — a scathing account of what Attorney General Letitia James said was sexual harassment or inappropriate touching of 11 women — as “designed to be a political firecracker on an explosive topic, and it did work,” Cuomo said. “There was a political and media stampede.”
Cuomo said Monday allegations must still be “scrutinized and vetted.“
But he said prolonging his fight in office “could only cause governmental paralysis and that is just not an option for you and not an option for the state, especially now.”
Cuomo also touted his “progressive” record and positioned himself as a bulwark against his party’s leftwing faction that he said wants to “defund the police” and “demonize businesses.” He touted New York’s longawaited passage of same sex marriage under his administration, as well as gun control legislation, a law setting an eventual statewide $15 minimum wage and New York’s efforts in spring 2020 to reduce COVID-19 infections.
Some critics jumped on Cuomo’s last remarks as selfserving.
Assemblymember Yuh-Line Niou, a fellow Democrat, tweeted he had a hundred million opportunities to improve as a leader and “Chose himself every time. Goodbye, Governor Cuomo.”
Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, released a statement that the governor was exploring his options for his post-gubernatorial life but had “no interest in running for office again.” Polling suggests Cuomo’s long-loyal base of Democratic voters has eroded this year.
Hochul will inherit immense challenges as she takes over an administration facing criticism for inaction in Cuomo’s final months in office. For one, COVID-19 has refused to abate.
“I have a different approach to governing,” Hochul said Wednesday, adding, “I get the job done because I don’t have time for distractions, particularly coming into this position.”
Hochul has already said she plans to run for a full four-year term next year. She’ll do so as the state Democratic Party grapples with an internal struggle between moderate and liberal New Yorkers.