It took real chutzpah for disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to launch his mayoral campaign on the first day of Women’s History Month. This whole month, and today, International Women’s Day, is meant to honor the struggles and triumphs of women, including their fight for workplace protections, equal rights, and the ability to build careers free from harassment and abuse.
Cuomo’s candidacy is a brazen attempt to erase recent history — one in which he was held accountable for violating those very rights. It is an insult to the women who came forward, risking their careers and reputations to hold a powerful man accountable.
Cuomo may have high name recognition and a “tough guy” persona that is often mistaken for strength, but strong leaders punch up, not down. Cuomo, by contrast, resigned in disgrace after being found by independent investigators of sexually harassing female government employees and creating a hostile work environment.
He now asks New Yorkers to choose him anyway. Some sitting elected officials are publicly considering rationales for a Cuomo vote. “Everyone deserves a second chance.” “He was never charged with a crime.” “It’s up to the voters.” If only these leaders remember why they pushed for him to resign less than four years ago.
Contrary to Camp Cuomo’s feigned ignorance, the absence of criminal charges in no way suggests that Cuomo is innocent. Sexual harassment is a civil offense, not a criminal one. Most of the findings against Cuomo did not meet the legal definition of a crime, but they certainly meet the legal definition of sexual harassment under New York State and federal civil law.
The 168-page report issued by Attorney General Letitia James, who retained respected external investigators to lead the inquiry, meticulously laid out how Cuomo broke federal and New York State law. The investigation revealed that eyewitnesses, texts, and contemporaneous disclosures corroborated the women’s accounts.
The women were found to be forthright, that their accounts were detailed and consistent, and that their demeanors were credible. They found that other witnesses, contemporaneous documents, notes, or other evidence often contradicted Cuomo’s denials. Moreover, a separate investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that Cuomo had illegally subjected female New York State employees to a sexually hostile work environment.
And while most news articles will state Cuomo denies any of the findings, they fail to mention that he first admitted wrongdoing. Instead, he claims how his actions made others feel was unintentional. But New York law doesn’t care how anyone, including a sitting governor, did or did not intend to make someone feel. What matters are his actions, which broke the law.
While people do deserve second chances, they aren’t a given — you have to take responsibility for your actions and find ways to make it right with the people and communities you hurt.
Cuomo had more than three years to take responsibility and make amends for his illegal behavior that betrayed public trust. Instead, he’s spent millions (and counting) in taxpayer dollars to continue harassing former public servants, demanding medical and gynecological records from one victim, and dragging others through expensive depositions — even some who aren’t suing him. That’s far from taking responsibility and far from deserving of a second chance.
Many New Yorkers were shocked when the country again elected Donald Trump, who was found liable for sexual abuse and has bragged about sexually assaulting women. We must all say that we do not accept this type of behavior from candidates, elected officials, or any employer. And yet too many leaders have somehow forgotten how to stand by women who stood to lose far more than they could possibly gain by speaking out.
Picking and choosing when to call out corruption — because sexual harassment is a form of corruption — is why so many voters are questioning just how much progress we’ve made since the resurgence of #MeToo in 2017.
Today is International Women’s Day, a good time as any for sitting lawmakers to reaffirm their opposition to a culture of harassment and abuse, and for voters to remember we can do better. Women’s History Month should be about honoring those who fought for change—not giving a platform to those who stood in the way.
By saying “hell no” to Cuomo, we can show that women’s history is moving forward, not backward, and that New York City is leading the way.
Vladimer is a co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group, a worker’s collective that fights for stronger protections against, and accountability for, workplace harassment and discrimination.
