[Editor’s note: NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation on August 10, 2021]
After months of silence, North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper finally spoke out about New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, one day after the release of a shocking report pertaining to sexual harassment.
According to the New York State Attorney General Letitia, Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, including current and former government workers, breaking state and federal laws and engaging in a pattern of unwanted touching and inappropriate comments.
The 165-page report said that the third-term Democrat cultivated a toxic work culture that was rife with fear and intimidation and helped enable “harassment to occur and created a hostile work environment.”
“The Attorney General’s report in New York is troubling,” Cooper said in the written statement. “I cannot speak for any other governors, but I believe Governor Cuomo should step aside.”
But if Cuomo tries to hold on, he could cause Cooper a major headache.
Fresh off his 2020 re-election as North Carolina’s governor, Cooper was selected for a critical national leadership role by his fellow Democrat governors.
In December of 2020, Cooper was named as vice-chair of the Democratic Governors Association (DGA) and was named chairman of the organization for the critical 2022 election year.
Founded in 1983, the DGA is the only organization dedicated to electing Democrat governors and candidates.
In 2022, Cooper will lead Democrat governors and candidates into battle in a whopping 36 states and three territories.
One of those states is New York.
In the wake of multiple scandals around sending Covid-19 infected patients into nursing homes and an attempted cover-up, now Democrats face the release of a shocking NY State Attorney General’s report that detailed systematic sexual harassment by Cuomo.
Most shocking, Cuomo has indicated his intentions to run for a fourth term in 2022, making him a top electoral priority.
The NYT reported that Cuomo hosted a $10,000 a plate fundraiser on June 29 with this headline: “Will Cuomo Run for a 4th Term? A $10,000-a-Plate Fund-Raiser Says Yes.”
Carolina Journal first reported in March that Cooper had remained mostly mute on Cuomo, despite his leadership in the Democratic Governors Association.
Once President Joe Biden called on Cuomo to resign, Cooper soon followed suit.
However, if Cuomo stands firm, and the NY State Assembly fails to remove Cuomo, he could be one of Cooper’s candidates as DGA chair next year. That would be a headache and a problem. How do you work to elect someone you have already called on to resign?