A Stark Reminder of Why New York Should Avoid an Andrew Cuomo Mayoral Run

Members of both parties on the House COVID panel concur on a critical point: Ex-governor Andrew Cuomo engaged in “medical malpractice” during the pandemic.

This bipartisan rebuke of Cuomo’s pandemic mismanagement serves as a timely reminder that his rumored bid for the mayoralty in New York City next year should be off the table.

The report from the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic highlighted Cuomo’s efforts to sway the testimony of a key witness, his former chief aide Jim Malatras, and deduced that Cuomo likely made “false statements” regarding his involvement in pandemic-related decision-making.

“Likely”? Cuomo has refuted allegations of influencing the report on COVID fatalities, which Malatras claimed he was heavily involved in.

Furthermore, before being embroiled in sexual harassment scandals, Cuomo and his team consistently misled, obstructed, and lied about COVID-related data requests from both the Legislature and the general public.

Among his gravest errors was the edict issued in March 2020, mandating nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients, followed by a cover-up of the total deaths occurring in those facilities.

The report delivers a scathing account of how Cuomo’s poor choices, directives, and policies jeopardized public health—all while he (or rather, his staff) published a book celebrating his leadership during the pandemic.

This serves as a timely reminder of other instances of Cuomo’s “leadership” that continue to affect New York.

He endorsed the “no-bail” law, Raise the Age statute, and various “criminal justice reforms,” all contributing to rising crime rates; he pushed through a congestion-pricing scheme in the Legislature; he reduced hospital and state psychiatric bed availability.

One of his directives in 2017 prohibited law enforcement statewide from cooperating with ICE and CPB; his energy policies have led to skyrocketing electric bills, with potentially worse consequences ahead.

Yet, his name recognition enables him to rank as the top alternative to Mayor Adams for next year.

No: This would echo the 2013 mayoral campaign, where disgraced Anthony Weiner took the spotlight on his path to another defeat, allowing Bill de Blasio to take residence in Gracie Mansion.

Andrew Cuomo should not be chasing another political position but instead addressing his numerous blunders.