I am a lifelong Democrat, and I will not stay silent while Andrew Cuomo tries to rewrite history and sell himself as our savior. He is not the answer. He was the architect of many of the crises we face today. He betrayed our trust, abused his power, and left office in disgrace.
Cuomo resigned to escape impeachment after the attorney general confirmed he sexually harassed multiple women. That alone should disqualify him from any future office.
His policy record is just as damning. For years, he ran social experiments on New Yorkers. He pushed bail changes that stripped judges of discretion. He jammed through discovery rules that crippled prosecutions and sidelined victims. He moved violent teens into juvenile facilities with Raise the Age. He limited discipline in dangerous facilities with HALT and called it reform. He watered down parole consequences with Less Is More.
Crime rose, repeat offenders cycled through, and the public lost confidence. That was Cuomo’s agenda, and New Yorkers paid the price.
During the pandemic, he showed the same arrogance and contempt for accountability. He forced nursing homes to accept COVID-positive patients, and thousands of seniors died as a result. My own mother was one of the 15,000 seniors we lost. His administration hid the true toll and played games with the data.
He imposed rules that crushed small businesses and kept schoolchildren out of classrooms for months. He targeted Jewish communities for public shaming and selective enforcement. He put politics and optics above fairness and facts. He cashed in with a multimillion-dollar book deal while staff on the public payroll helped him produce it, even as New Yorkers were grieving and desperate for honest leadership.
Cuomo also imposed congestion pricing. He sold it as a solution, but it is a new tax on working families who need a car for odd hours, tools, caregiving, and jobs outside the subway map. He rushed marijuana legalization with no enforcement plan and opened the door to a flood of illegal shops that prey on kids and neighborhoods.
He closed prisons without a plan for safety or jobs. He disbanded his own anti-corruption commission when it got close to his inner circle. His economic development program became a symbol of bid rigging and favoritism. Over and over, he put ambition and optics above the people of this state.
His scandals, investigations, legal battles, and fallout have already cost the public more than $65 million. New Yorkers paid for his mess while he tried to rehabilitate his image.
Now he wants us to forget all of that and hand him the keys again. He wants moderates and independents to believe he is a victim of politics. That is false. He is not a victim. He is the author of his own downfall. He already lost, and he left office in disgrace. He should not be rewarded with another shot at power.
New Yorkers deserve a real choice. Normally, our city has a two-party race for mayor. This year should be no different. Curtis Sliwa is on the ballot as the nominee of a major political party with a long record of service.
He built the Guardian Angels into a global public safety force. He has walked the streets, ridden the subways, and stood with victims when no one else would. His campaign has grassroots support, a serious platform, and the toughness to govern.
Curtis has pledged to reverse the damage Cuomo created. He will pursue common-sense changes to bail and parole that protect the public and respect victims. He will crack down on illegal smoke shops that exploded under Cuomo’s rushed legalization. He will fight to stop congestion pricing from punishing working families.
He will publish transparent dashboards so every New Yorker can track progress in real time. He will respect every community, including the Jewish community that Cuomo unfairly targeted. He will keep schools open and students learning because children should never again be collateral damage for political theater.
This is not about party labels. I am a Democrat, and I am asking fellow Democrats, independents, and Republicans to put competence and integrity first. Cuomo cannot be trusted with power. Curtis has earned the trust of New Yorkers through decades of service and straight talk.
If you want safe streets, honest government, and relief for working people, choose the candidate who has been there with you. Choose the candidate who will stand up to insiders and deliver results. Choose the major party candidate who can win and then govern.
Andrew Cuomo is not the answer. Curtis Sliwa is.
Holden represents parts of Queens in the City Council.
