New Yorkers Say They Believe Misconduct of Gov. Cuomo, But Don’t Think He Should Resign

By Yehudit Garmaise 

    Gov. Cuomo’s strategy to ask New Yorkers to withhold their judgment of him until Attorney General Letitia James completes her independent review seems to have quelled, for now, the calls for him to resign.

   While most New Yorkers believe harassment allegations against Gov. Andrew Cuomo are true, at the same time, a slight majority of voters do not think the governor should resign.

     Although New Yorkers do not seem to want the disruption caused by a once-popular governor resigning in disgrace, 57% of voters surveyed said that, for next year, they would prefer to vote for someone else for governor. Only 33% of voters said they would vote to re-elect Mr. Cuomo, who has previously said he was planning to run for a fourth term.

   Last month, Sen. Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, 59 other New York State Democrats, and Mayor Bill de Blasio called on Gov. Cuomo to step down amidst a swirl of allegations of misconduct, including underreporting the number of New Yorkers who died from COVID in nursing homes, prioritizing his family for COVID testing, and nine allegations of harassment.

   Last week, however, the Siena College Research Institute surveyed 801 voters, and 51% of whom said that Gov. Cuomo should not step down, and 37% of voters said he should resign.

   Multiple investigations into the governor’s misconduct, however, are ongoing. In addition to James’ inquiry, the state Assembly has launched an impeachment inquiry, which meets Wednesday, and federal prosecutors are examining whether aides to Mr. Cuomo altered a Health Department report on COVID nursing home deaths.

   Andrew Giuliani, former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s son, and US Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), are Republican challengers who have said they plan on running for governor of New York in 2022, and Mayor Bill de Blasio has hinted that he may be thinking about running as the Democratic candidate for governor.

Photo by: Darren McGee- Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo