Amidst the ongoing fallout from investigations into sexual misconduct allegations and nursing home death data, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo is scrambling to maintain the support of his base, which recent polling indicates is most grounded in non-white, particularly Black communities. Last week, one day after State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins called on him to resign, Cuomo held a briefing, ostensibly about racial equity in vaccine access, in which he stood flanked by several Black and brown members of the clergy.
In a similar vein, the third-term Governor, son of a former governor, has also tried to cast himself as a populist outsider under attack by political elites. “I was not elected by the politicians. I was elected by the people. Part of this is that I am not part of the political club,” he said.
Thus far, the strategy appears to be working. Major labor unions and civil rights organizations with significant working class and Black and Latino bases have stood by the Governor. And of the last three New York congressional Democrats who have refused to call for the Governor’s resignation, two—Hakeem Jeffries and Gregory Meeks —represent majority non-white districts with Black pluralities.
On Friday, as several high-profile members of New York’s congressional delegation called for Cuomo’s resignation, Jeffries issued a statement via Twitter calling the allegations “very serious” and stating that the Governor should “consider whether he can continue to effectively lead the state.”
Meeks issued a similar statement, and noted that Cuomo has “a right to due process.”
Interviews with residents in neighborhoods represented by Jeffries and Meeks suggest that the congressional leaders’ current stances are in line with those of many of their constituents. Several residents felt that Cuomo served as a strong leader during the height of New York City’s COVID-19 crisis, and said that while they supported an investigation, they did not think he should throw in the towel.
Kester Grant, a 27-year-old FedEx employee who lives in East New York, said resignation would be premature and he’s glad that his Congressman, Hakeem Jeffries, has not gone as far as others in calling for Cuomo to resign over more than a half dozen sexual misconduct allegations.
“It’s both sides to the thing, so we’re trying to really figure out what really is going on,” Grant said, adding that he respected Cuomo’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis. “I really love how he really handled the pandemic,” he said. Compared to other states, he continued, “most of our stuff was really controlled.”
Standing outside a Marshall’s in Ozone Park, Queens, a neighborhood Meeks represents, 40-year-old hospital worker Livy Giancani said Cuomo was too good a leader to lose in this moment. “They should listen to what the women need to say, but resigning, I think that’s too much,” she said. “Look at the way, he deal with all this COVID stuff and how well he do for New York. He’s good.”
New York City’s public advocate Jumaane Williams told the Washington Post that he expected many residents’ views will change. “Black voters are not a monolith, but they have been supportive of the governor over the years,” he said. “But I think that’s starting to erode.”
Not all residents interviewed were so generous with Cuomo. Patricia William, 50, an Ozone Park resident, said she wanted Congressman Meeks to go further.
“As a man, I think he should call for his resignation because there is proof. I don’t think the ladies are lying,” she said. “I think because he is a Cuomo ally that’s why he hasn’t called for his [resignation], but he needs to call for it.”
William worries that the ongoing scandal will distract lawmakers from tackling public policy issues. New York’s state budget is supposed to be hammered out in just a few weeks for an April 1st deadline.
“I think he needs to go now and let somebody lead,” she said.
