The Working Families Party and a coalition rallying around state Senator Julia Salazar are calling for the resignation or, in the case of the latter, his impeachment prior to the conclusion of the investigation by Attorney General Letitia James.
With three women now accusing the governor of sexual harassment as of Monday night as revealed in a New York Times report, several state lawmakers would like to see Cuomo impeached for not only the recent allegations but also the underreporting of nursing home deaths as revealed by the AG as well as allegations that he has a history of bullying political opponents.
Senator Jabari Brisport, Assemblywoman Emily Gallagher, Assemblywoman Phara Souffrant Forrest, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and Assemblywoman Marcela Mitaynes joined Salazar in a joint statement accusing the governor of misconduct such as bullying and predatory behavior:
“The accounts of sexual harassment from the women who have courageously come forward confirm what many in Albany have known for years: that Governor Cuomo uses his power to belittle, bully and harass his employees and colleagues. The accounts add to recent revelations of gross misconduct. It is time for the legislature to demand accountability. Impeachment proceedings are the appropriate avenue for us to pursue as legislators to hold the Governor accountable for his many abuses of power and remove him from office. These accounts of predatory behavior come just weeks after Governor Cuomo’s administration admitted to withholding critical information, including the thousands of COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes, from the public and from the federal government. That act alone on the part of the Governor was sufficient to justify impeachment proceedings. Governor Cuomo has repeatedly abused his powers and yet has faced no accountability. We must utilize every mechanism to lead a process commensurate with the severity of the governor’s multiple abuses of power.”
The Working Families Party has long been opponents to Governor Cuomo, which includes several lawmakers they have put support behind such as state Senator Jessica Ramos, calling for an end to his tenure. If an impeachment or a resignation were to take place, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul would succeed Cuomo for the remainder of his tenure.
Governor Cuomo’s reign of fear, harassment and intimidation cannot continue.
We are calling on the Governor to resign immediately because he is unfit to serve the people of New York.
— NY Working Families Party (@NYWFP) March 2, 2021
On Monday, they called for an end to his leadership of the administration.
“The public has now seen Governor Cuomo’s true leadership style. The Governor led a cover-up of COVID nursing home deaths to preserve his image. His administration bullies, threatens, and smears anyone who disagrees with him, silencing opposing views. And now we’ve learned of his pattern of sexual harassment and predatory behavior towards women,” the WFP said. “It’s no secret that the WFP has a history of sincere disagreements with Governor Cuomo over his decade-long agenda of putting the interests of corporations and wealthy donors over working people. However, New Yorkers across the political spectrum agree that what has recently emerged around Cuomo’s leadership style in Albany is beyond the pale.”
The possibility of Cuomo losing his status as governor would come on the heels of a year in which he has gained national adoration for his statesmanship during the first months of the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to the coinage of the term “Cuomosexual.”
He was noted for standing up to the White House which was notably passive in fending off the coronavirus threat, accusing the Trump administration of negligence in failing to prevent disaster through foreign policy in the first place.
