By Eric W. Schoen
As I prepare to file this column, Attorney General Letitia James has issued her report on Governor Andrew Cuomo. By the time you read this article, the title Governor may be removed from in front of his name. Congratulation Attorney General James.
Congratulations for being the official who finally was willing to take on the Cuomo machine. It has been allowed to go on for way to long. It was the Cuomo way or the highway. If you dared to disagree with King Andrew, you lost your job. You lost your contract. You lost your ability to interact with the state.
Trust me, Andrew’s behavior has gone on for years. He was the enforcer during his father’s administration. I knew someone from Yonkers who at one point didn’t do what the Cuomos wanted and lost his job. Yes his job was a patronage job. There is plenty of that at all levels of government. It’s nothing new. It even goes on in the City of Yonkers!
And a lot of these patronage appointees have no qualifications for the jobs they get. They usually work to get a candidate elected to office and the candidate rewards them with a job. No problem if they are qualified for the job. An elected official has the right to surround him or herself with loyal people.
But when they are not qualified for the job they can be a liability to the official who appointed them. And you have some officials like Andrew who think that because he appointed you, he can interact anyway he wants with you. You don’t like it? He will show you the door. It’s that simple.
People knew not to mess with Andrew. He has that sweet, public, you would want him to be your grandson face and demeanor. But in private he is, to quote Senator Lloyd Bentsen when he ran against Dan Quayle for Vice President, ‘No Jack Kennedy!’
Andrew Cuomo is no dummy. Far from as smart as his father was, but no dummy. What happened to Andrew happens to so many elected officials. The power goes to their heads. They think they are untouchable. Invincible. They can do as they please until they are caught, no pun intended with ‘their pants down.’
And many times we the folks that continually elect them to office are to blame for letting the power go to their heads. And For letting this behavior go on. If there is any reason for term limits it’s Andrew Cuomo.
Much credit for the unveiling of Andrew’s despicable behavior goes to Assemblyman Ron Kim. Kim criticized Cuomo over the Nursing home scandal. In Yiddish we call the scandal a shanda. But we haven’t got that report about the loss of thousands of lives needlessly yet so I won’t comment on it.
Assemblyman Kim went public with a bullying conversation he had with Andrew. Kim said that Andrew told him ‘We’re in this business together and We don’t cross certain lines and I hadn’t seen his wrath and that he can destroy him.’ It’s funny when all of Kim’s accusations became public, I didn’t see many elected officials jump to Andrew’s defense. That’s got to tell you something.
Credit also must go to our Senator, Andrea Stewart-Cousins who while leader of her chamber when there was a power sharing arrangement going on said to Cuomo, ‘You look at me, Mr. Governor, but you don’t see me. You see my black skin and a woman, but you don’t realize I am a suburban legislator.’ Cuomo according to press reports was stunned with Stewart-Cousins remarks.
I’ve known Andrea since our time working for then Yonkers Mayor Terence Zaleski almost 30 years ago. She is a thoughtful, caring person. I was a bit disappointed in her when she refused to call for Andrew’s resignation ‘until one more woman would come forward.’ That comment disappointed many of her supporters.
Andrea however represents Yonkers well in Albany, having ‘brought home the bacon’ particularly in terms of education funding this year with her colleagues Shelley Mayer, Nader Sayegh and Gary Pretlow. Bringing home money long overdue. I don’t think she has higher ambitions in Albany but I think you will see Shelley Mayer among those talked about for the top job in our state. Most definitely for the top job in Yonkers unless the ‘City Hall Gang’ figures out a way to extend Spano’s tenure.
The headlines in the conservative press will probably call Cuomo ‘a pervert’ for the way he supposedly, according to the report treated women. It wasn’t one woman. It was many women. Including a State Trooper charged with protecting him. Pathetic. Sad. Disgusting. It’s like can you believe what you are reading and hearing?
This abusive culture towards women in Albany has got to stop. And it has gone on not only in the Executive Mansion but also in both Chambers of the Legislature. Maybe with Andrew out of the picture there will be some real reform in Albany. Who would have thought that his demise would bring about reform.
Cuomo claims he never touched anyone and called the report biased. He will fight the accusations and the many civil lawsuits, some possibly criminal that will come out of it. Can he do this while at the same time being Governor. The report, coming from an Attorney General of his own party is too damaging. He will do the people of the State of New York a disservice trying to hang on.
And don’t forget, we haven’t seen the reports on the $5 million dollar book deal, the Nursing Home deaths, the use of state resources for Covid testing for his friends and family while you and I waited on line and begged to get tested and I am sure as I hit deadline I am forgetting something.
It’s time for change in Albany. Not only a change in the person or persons in charge, but a change in the culture that has existed for way to long. And again, no pun intended, ‘Leadership.’
But remember. It is you and I that have the responsibility to vet out those people who want to run for office and elect people who are going to demand change. We must take that responsibility very seriously!
And now, show some leadership yourself. Make sure you have received your Covid vaccination. Your health, the health of your friends and family and everyone you love. In my book that’s the most important thing!
Reach Eric Schoen at thistooisyonkers@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @ericyonkers. Listen to Eric Schoen and Dan Murphy on the Westchester Rising Radio Show Thursday’s from 10-11 a.m. On WVOX 1460 AM, go to WVOX.com and click the arrow to listen to the live stream or download the WVOX app from the App Store free of charge.
