Government

Don’t Resign Gov. Cuomo, But It’s Time To Take Notice

While I decry Cuomo’s behavior, I also decry the quickness of judgment to condemn him.

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(Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

From what I’m told, eating humble pie is nothing Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been good at. He’s been called brash, a bully, and a know-it-all. But many of those characteristics are what helped get him elected and kept him in office since 2011.

Now he’s charged with four allegations of sexual harassment against women some 20 years his junior. Are the accusations serious?  Yes, but they’re not as serious as those leveled against Harvey Weinstein or even Donald Trump, who boasted that as a celebrity he could do anything he wanted with women, even “grab ‘em by the pussy.”

Should Cuomo have known better? You bet. He may not have been born in the “#MeToo Era,” but there’s no excuse for what’s at best “aggressive flirting” and at worse sexual harassment in this day and age. Putting your hand on a younger woman’s lower back during a wedding after a few glasses of wine and telling her you’d like to kiss her is not criminal, but it’s definitely obnoxious.  Engaging in conversations of a sexual nature with your staff at work, asking if they’d date older men, is downright wrong. Office managers have been read the riot act about this for years. However, while tone deafness on the part of the governor is alarming, it doesn’t undo all the good he’s done for the state of New York.

During the COVID-19 crisis, Cuomo issued daily press conferences that millions tuned in to hear a leader speak with compassion, intelligence, and common sense. His addresses became a national solace. His briefings were followed throughout the country. There was talk of him running for president.

Even before COVID-19, he spearheaded many projects in New York including rebuilding the Tappan Zee Bridge (now called the Mario Cuomo bridge after his father), retooling the giant post office across from Pennsylvania Station to become a modern transit hub, shutting down antiquated upstate prisons, raising the age when children can be tried as adults, legalizing gay marriage and marijuana, and phasing in a minimum wage hike of $15/hour. These gains are not insignificant.

I feel for the women who were subjected to inappropriate behavior, and the angst they must have felt in figuring out their next move — keep quiet, leave the office, or go public. None of these choices is easy.

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And while I decry Cuomo’s behavior, I also decry the quickness of judgment to condemn him. There’s got to be a middle place where a leader is neither a hero nor a heel. Even powerful governors are human beings, subject to feeling lonely, drinking one too many at a party, or acting inappropriately.

Quick calls to judgment without proper investigation cause mistakes. Think of former senator Al Franken and the prank photo he posed for which forced his resignation. Prior to becoming a politician, he had been, after all, a comedian. I wonder how many Democratic leaders now regret the pressure put on him to resign.

I question the knives-out mentality of colleagues and foes who never got along with Cuomo and are all too ready to sweep him under the rug of history so they can vie for his position. (I’m thinking particularly of New York City’s ambitious mayor Bill DeBlasio, whose relationship with Cuomo has long been on the rocks.)

Is this a scandal? Yes. But is it a crisis compelling resignation?

There are other torpedoes waiting to hit Cuomo’s governance. Attorney General Letitia James is looking into an undercount of elderly who died in old age homes during COVID-19. And who knows what else will come to light now that the pile on has started?

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But before demanding his resignation and filling the office with a less-experienced leader, let’s take a collective breath. New York is just rounding the COVID corner, businesses are reopening, kids are going back to school.  Vaccinations are being widely disseminated.

Does Cuomo deserve some comeuppance? Sure. But should it mean he abandons office in the midst of a crisis? I don’t think so.

Toni Messina has tried over 100 cases and has been practicing criminal law and immigration since 1990. You can follow her on Twitter: @tonitamess.

 

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