In the end, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo did the right thing. Acknowledging the damage the allegations of sexual harassment was inflicting on the state, and only a week after the explosive report that led to the moment, New York’s governor of 10 years announced that he would resign in two weeks. Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul of Buffalo will become governor before the month is out.
Cuomo governed with his elbows out and he made enemies, even within his own party. But he was also able to project a measure of eloquence and, in a rueful way, he brought that to bear in Tuesday’s surprise announcement. While denying any actions that he would not want to see his daughters endure, he acknowledged that some of his conduct had properly offended women. It was, at least as far as it went, an admission that seemed heartfelt.
But while Cuomo’s decision ends the impeachment threat against him, criminal investigations have begun in at least five counties and there is no telling how – or if – his resignation will influence them. The allegations are serious and include a complaint from one aide that he fondled her in the Governor’s Mansion.
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Cuomo has denied those accusations, acknowledging only that he failed to appreciate how much norms of conduct had changed and that he should have been more sensitive to the concerns of many of the 11 women cited in Attorney General Letitia James’s report.
Yet, Cuomo’s announcement Tuesday was also notable for what he avoided discussing, including an allegation of unlawful retaliation against one accuser. The report cited his then-top aide, Melissa DeRosa, as leading the push to discredit the woman, but it’s hard to believe that Cuomo, a famous micromanager, was unaware of the effort, which alone would have been legitimate cause for impeachment.
As a strategic matter, resignation may be the best course for Cuomo, personally, but it serves the state, as well. New Yorkers won’t have to be consumed by weeks or months of political and legal maneuvering, at a time when Covid-19 remains a threat and other matters demand attention. And the two-week timeline gives Hochul more time to prepare to take the state’s reins.
While Cuomo’s resignation may provide satisfaction to some people, including the women he mistreated, it’s still a sad day for New York. Cuomo won three gubernatorial elections in one of the country’s biggest states because majorities of New Yorkers trusted his leadership and counted on his good judgment.
He let us down.
Despite some missteps, he guided the state through the pandemic in a way that justifiably put a shine on his name. That remains his great achievement. Now, his resignation overshadows it.
He let himself down, too.
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