What you should know
- Gov. Andrew Cuomo will not run for public office again, his aide said. Cuomo gave his last speech to New Yorkers before his forced resignation over the sexual harassment scandal takes effect at 11:59 p.m.
- Cuomo came to have the national spotlight where he saw himself as a hero in the early days of the pandemic during his COVID reports. A moment that changed dramatically after scandals including those related to sexual harassment.
- Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, Democrat, will assume the reins of power at midnight. She faces a number of challenges from the current COVID crisis to budget wars, marijuana legalization, and crime.
—
NEW YORK – Governor Andrew Cuomo gave his farewell speech at noon Monday, hours before his resignation takes effect, again denying sexual harassment and insisting that “the truth will come out.” .
The 63-year-old Democrat has eviscerated at all times, personally and through his outside attorney, both the full account of the attorney general’s report, which concluded that the governor sexually harassed 11 women, and the accusers.
“There will be other occasions to speak about the recent situation that involves me, but let me say now that when the government politicized the accusations and the headlines condemn without facts, the justice system is undermined. And that does not serve women. men. It doesn’t serve society, “Cuomo said.
“Of course, everyone has the right to come forward. And we applaud their bravery and courage in doing so. But the allegations have yet to be scrutinized and verified, whether made by a woman or a man, that’s our basic justice system,” he said. “There was a political and media stampede. But the truth will come out in time. Of that, I’m sure.”
Cuomo has offered some hints about his future plans or where he will live after leaving the Executive Mansion, though senior assistant Melissa DeRosa, who also resigned amid the fallout from the attorney general’s explosive sexual harassment report, said the He had no plans to continue his public office for three terms.
“Andrew Cuomo has spent nearly 25 years in public service. And the way he does it is 24/7, “said DeRosa, whose resignation also takes effect Monday.” He hopes to spend time with his family and has a lot of fishing to catch up on. He is exploring a number of options, but has no interest in running for office again. “
Cuomo is slated 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.
In his farewell speech, he reiterated the comments he made for the first time at the end of his initial (albeit brief) resignation announcement.
“There are moments in life that test our character, that ask us if we are the person we think we are or if we are the person we try to be at our best. You know me, I am a fighter and my instinct is to fight. this because it’s unfair in my opinion, “Cuomo said. “But you also know that I love New York and serve you. That’s the oath I took, and right now, I think my service comes first.”
“Prolonging this situation could only cause government paralysis and that is not an option for you or the state, especially now. There is real work to be done,” he added.
Cuomo cedes his control over the government to Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul in a midnight transfer of power that will break another glass ceiling for women in state politics. Hochul is scheduled to be sworn in as New York’s first female governor shortly after midnight in a brief private ceremony overseen by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore.
She plans to address the people of New York as governor for the first time on Tuesday afternoon.
The leadership change comes in the wake of Tropical Storm Henri, which nearly made landfall on Long Island on Sunday but left potentially dangerous amounts of rain over parts of the Catskill Mountains and the Hudson River Valley, even after it struck. downgraded to a tropical depression.
The storm brought Cuomo back into public view over the weekend to discuss safety and precautionary measures. The governor gave two televised briefings warning New Yorkers to take the storm seriously in the same vein that once made his daily COVID-19 briefings popular.
Perhaps if the storm had been catastrophic, Cuomo would have been tempted to postpone his resignation. But as the potential for danger waned, he said there would be no change in his plans. “My last day is tomorrow,” he said Sunday.
Hochul, also a Democrat, will inherit immense challenges when he takes office in an administration facing criticism for inaction in Cuomo’s distracted final months in office.
COVID-19 has refused to budge. Schools are scheduled to reopen in the coming weeks, and big decisions must be made about whether to require masks for students or vaccinations for teachers. The state’s economic recovery after the pandemic is still incomplete.
Cuomo’s resignation comes after an independent investigation overseen by state attorney general Letitia James concluded there was credible evidence that he had sexually harassed at least 11 women, including an aide who said the governor allegedly touched her. the chest and has since filed a complaint with the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators also said that Cuomo’s senior staff retaliated against at least one of those women and worked to undermine the credibility of others.
Cuomo insists he did not touch anyone inappropriately and called the accusations “unfair” and “false,” but said he would not force the state to endure an impeachment it failed to win.
Separately, Cuomo was facing a legislative investigation into whether he misled the public about COVD-19 deaths in nursing homes to protect his reputation as the leader of a pandemic and received undue help from state employees to write a book on the pandemic that could earn you $ 5 million.
Cuomo has offered some clues about his plans or where he will live after leaving the Executive Mansion. He told New York magazine in a recent interview that “it’s not going to go away.”
In his resignation speech on Aug. 10, he spoke proudly about his track record of legalizing same-sex marriage, expanding paid family leave, and raising the state minimum wage to $ 15.
Hochul will need to quickly create his own team of advisers who can help lead the administration for at least the next 16 months.
She plans to keep Cuomo-era employees for 45 days to give herself time to interview new hires, but said she won’t keep anyone who has behaved unethically. At least 35 employees of the governor’s office have left since February, according to staff rosters.
Hochul, who said he did not work closely with Cuomo and was unaware of the harassment allegations before they were made public, has promised that no one will call his workplace “toxic.”
“I have a different approach to governing,” Hochul said Wednesday in Queens, adding: “I do the work because I don’t have time for distractions, particularly when I get to this position.”
Hochul has already said that he plans to run for a full four-year term next year.
It will do so as the state Democratic Party grapples with an infighting between moderate and liberal New Yorkers.
Hochul, who once represented a conservative western New York district in Congress for a year and has a reputation as a moderate, is expected to elect a left-wing New York City state legislator as its lieutenant governor.
State Democratic Party Chairman Jay Jacobs praised Hochul as “formidable.”
“She has a lot of experience and I think she will be a refreshing and exciting new governor,” she said.
– .
