New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo again ruled out a resignation on Sunday after coming under new sexual harassment charges and calls from Democratic officials to leave.
• Read also: The brutal fall of Andrew Cuomo
• Read also: New York governor accused of sexual harassment refuses to resign
In office for ten years, the one who was a symbol of the fight against the pandemic had already been questioned by three women, in the last ten days, for inappropriate gestures or comments with a sexual connotation.
Saturday the Washington post and the Wall Street Journal published two new testimonies, which relate similar behavior on the part of the elected 63-year-old. Other former governor’s staff describe a “toxic” work environment.
“I will not resign for allegations,” replied the sixty-year-old during a telephone press briefing. In hollow, he challenged the “credibility” of the accusations against him.
Wednesday, after the first salute of allegations, the native of Queens had said “to apologize deeply” to those he had been able to hurt, while refuting any inappropriate gesture.
New York State Senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins joined several of her local parliament colleagues on Sunday in calling on Andrew Cuomo to step down.
Soon after, his counterpart in the lower house, Carl Heastie, followed suit, saying it was “time for the governor to seriously consider whether he [pouvait] meet the expectations of New York citizens ”under these conditions.
On Friday, the two chambers voted to withdraw the governor’s special powers delegated to him last year to manage the pandemic. The text must be ratified by Andrew Cuomo himself. In the event of a veto, Parliament can override.
“I was elected by the people of this state”, commented the person concerned, “not by politicians.”
In addition to the harassment accusations, Andrew Cuomo is suspected of having willfully publicly underestimated the death toll from the coronavirus in nursing homes across the state, which has reached more than 13,000.
A federal investigation is underway to shed light on these accusations.
A local political figure until last year, Andrew Cuomo had acquired international star status due to his management of the pandemic, considered rigorous and responsive. Some even saw a future presidential candidate instead, but the main party refuted any national ambition.