NY Working Families Party: Time to end ‘Cuomo’s reign of fear, harassment’

The progressive New York Working Families Party (NYWFP) is calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to resign amid allegations of sexual harassment and criticism of how his administration handled COVID-19 deaths at nursing homes.

“Andrew Cuomo’s reign of fear, harassment, and intimidation cannot continue,” NYWFP state director Sochie Nnaemeka said in a statement shared with The Hill. “We are calling on Governor Cuomo to resign immediately because he is unfit to serve the people of New York.”

The statement, one of many calling for Cuomo to step down, comes after New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) announced that her office is moving forward with an investigation into sexual harassment allegations made by former aides of the governor.

One of those former aides, Lindsay Boylan, said the governor kissed her without consent and suggested that they “play strip poker.” Charlotte Bennett, 25, told The New York Times that Cuomo had asked her several personal questions, and had said that he was open to relationships with women in their 20s.

Anna Ruch, who has not worked for the governor, also accused him of unwanted advances.

The accusations came as Cuomo struggles to contain the fallout from his handling of the state’s COVID-19 deaths in nursing homes. James’s office released a report in January that found the state underreported those deaths by as much as 50 percent earlier in the pandemic.

“While New Yorkers are struggling to feed their families and make rent, the Governor has shown himself to be far more concerned with misleading the public and mistreating others than caring for New Yorkers in need,” Nnaemeka said. “During a historic public health crisis, the Governor sexually harassed women, put vulnerable seniors in harms’ way, and threatened those who spoke out against him.”

Cuomo addressed the sexual harassment allegations on Sunday, saying his interactions “may have been insensitive or too personal.”

NYWFP has been critical of Cuomo in the past. The party backed actress Cynthia Nixon in 2018 when she challenged Cuomo for governor.