Cuomo’s Deceptions Impacted Us All — Voters Must Remember

How well do voters remember the past? The results of the New York City mayoral election could depend on that very question.

Disgraced ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo received a significant endorsement on Monday when Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres, a key figure in New York’s Democratic Party, encouraged Cuomo to enter the race.

“The city is in crisis,” Torres stated, expressing that he is not interested in “relitigating” the events that led to the governor’s resignation in 2021 — despite the fact that Torres himself was part of the calls for Cuomo’s resignation.

At that time, Cuomo found himself deserted by his entire party amid an impeachment inquiry — an event that had occurred only once before in 250 years of the state’s history.

Now, less than four years later, most New Yorkers primarily recall the scandalous allegations of sexual harassment that led to Cuomo’s downfall.

However, he faced allegations far more severe: a series of self-serving decisions, deceptions, and cover-ups that jeopardized lives, all intended to enhance his reputation and enrich himself.

Despite this, last week, the Staten Island Democratic Party hastily endorsed Cuomo’s potential candidacy for mayor.

Cuomo “is the only proven leader with a track record of results and determination,” asserted local party chair Laura LoBianco Sword.

Really? The New York Democratic Party has no better option for the moderate Staten Islanders than a disgraced governor still ensnared in ethical dilemmas?

That’s a rather shallow pool of candidates.

While Torres may prefer not to revisit the past, Cuomo remains mired in controversy regarding the conduct that resulted in his resignation.

A panel of state attorneys is still deliberating on a complaint that seeks to disbar or suspend Cuomo from practicing law, as reported by Gothamist on Wednesday.

Moreover, just last week, New York’s highest court, the Court of Appeals, confirmed the constitutionality of the state’s ethics commission — which can continue its investigation into Cuomo’s $5.1 million book deal aimed at profiting from the COVID-19 pandemic. He could be required to forfeit the earnings.

Cuomo is accused of personally benefiting from the crisis by having his aides pen a book extolling his leadership during the pandemic, all the while 1,000 New Yorkers were dying daily from the virus.

The book, titled “American Crisis: Leadership Lessons from the Covid-19 Pandemic,” initially climbed the New York Times bestseller list, but a series of scandals in early 2021 tarnished Cuomo’s reputation and severely diminished the book’s appeal.

By this time, the state Assembly had embarked on an impeachment inquiry.

Cuomo’s misuse of state resources for profit from the book was deemed adequate grounds for impeachment. However, the investigation carried out by the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell unearthed even more alarming charges.

Investigators determined that Cuomo had mandated the return of COVID-infected patients to nursing homes while they were still testing positive and subsequently manipulated the death toll that ensued.

Their findings also affirmed “overwhelming evidence” regarding sexual harassment.

Furthermore, the report suggested that the governor’s office had concealed allegations pertaining to potential defects in the construction of the Mario M. Cuomo bridge — although the investigation was ultimately curtailed when the governor resigned, leaving it unfinished.

It’s unfortunate that Cuomo had to rename the celebrated Tappan Zee bridge after his father and attempted (unsuccessfully) to have the new bridge featured on state license plates.

Sometimes, an inflated ego can drive individuals to reckless extremes.

On August 3, 2021, state Attorney General Letitia James released her findings, which corroborated the sexual harassment allegations, leading to Cuomo’s immediate resignation.

Fast forward to this year’s mayoral election. Voters in New York City, eager to counter the escalating crime and chaos affecting their lives, are on the lookout for an alternative to the array of far-left candidates competing for the position.

Torres highlighted Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, who is also running for mayor.

“We’re confronting a level of extremism unprecedented in the history of New York,” Torres aptly noted.

The Asian Wave Alliance, weary of leftist extremism, has also encouraged Cuomo to enter the race, deeming him “the most common-sense candidate.”

However, New Yorkers should find it hard to believe that the individual previously deemed unfit for the governor’s office in 2021 is now being promoted as their best candidate for City Hall.

In September, Rep. Elise Stefanik interrogated Cuomo during a congressional hearing about the “multi-million” advance on his self-congratulatory book.

She prompted him to stand and apologize to the families present who lost loved ones to COVID-19 in New York’s nursing homes. Cuomo refused.

“There’s a reason you are the former governor of New York,” she admonished. “You will never hold elected office again.”

The answer to that depends on how much New York City voters choose to keep in mind.

Betsy McCaughey is a former lieutenant governor of New York and the co-founder of the Committee to Save Our City.