By Ken Bredemeier*
WASHINGTON – New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, one of the leading Democratic political figures in the U.S., is rebuffing calls that he resign in the face of a growing number of allegations that he has sexually harassed young women.
Over the weekend, two key Democratic leaders of New York’s statehouse, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and House Speaker Carl Heastie, said Cuomo should consider resigning after five women, four of whom worked for the governor, accused him of unwanted advances.
But Cuomo said Sunday, “There is no way I resign. Let’s do the attorney general investigation, let’s get the findings, and then we’ll go from there.”
Leadership praised
A year ago, as the coronavirus engulfed New York, the fourth biggest U.S. state with 19 million residents, Cuomo was cited as an exemplary leader in managing the worst effects of the pandemic. He shut down nonessential businesses in the state and held daily news conferences to pillory the national government for its halting response.
But more recently, investigations have revealed that Cuomo’s health officials undercounted the number of coronavirus deaths at nursing homes in the state, and then the harassment allegations surfaced as well.
Stewart-Cousins, the Democratic state Senate leader, said in a statement, “New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health and economic impacts of it. We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state Governor Cuomo must resign.”
