In a bid to make a political comeback, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday he is running for mayor of New York City.Related video above: Here’s How NY Gov. Hochul Could Oust NYC Mayor Eric Adams After His Corruption ChargesCuomo made a 17-minute pitch for his candidacy in a video announcement released on his website, looking directly into the camera as images of New York City played along.“We know that today our New York City is in trouble,” Cuomo says as the video shows images of homeless people on city streets and the city’s subways. “You see it in the empty storefronts, the graffiti, the grime, the migrant influx, the random violence. The city just feels threatening, out of control and in crisis.”Cuomo’s entrance into the already crowded race sets up a potential political comeback for the former governor, who resigned from office in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal after 11 women accused him of sexual misconduct.Cuomo has denied the allegations, which at the time were outlined in a report by the state attorney general.The entrance also sets up a clash between the former governor and current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has been facing renewed scrutiny and calls to step aside after the Trump-led Department of Justice directed prosecutors to drop corruption charges against him.Adams has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and his campaign did not return a request for commentCuomo has largely stayed out of the public eye since leaving office.CNN previously reported Cuomo and his aides have been laying the groundwork for a run for months, encouraged by the controversy surrounding Adams.Signs Cuomo was working to set up a run increased in recent days. Last week, allies for Cuomo launched a super PAC under the name “Fix the City,” according to State Board of Elections data.Opposition quick to respondCuomo’s competitors reacted to the former governor’s announcement on Saturday.There are at least eight candidates already in the race and lawmakers who do not want him back in office have been working behind the scenes to draft additional candidates to fend off Cuomo’s candidacy.New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said Cuomo’s candidacy is the “last thing New Yorkers need right now is another agent of chaos.”“The greatest city in the world deserves better than this,” said Lander, who has declared himself a mayoral candidate.Scott Stringer, a mayoral candidate who also ran for mayor in 2021, released a video response to Cuomo’s announcement Saturday, saying the former governor has, “always put his ego and his interest ahead of our city.”“Being mayor of New York may help Andrew Cuomo, but it don’t do a damn thing for New Yorkers,” Stringer said in the video.New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who investigated the sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, has been working to draft City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams into the race, according to two sources familiar with her thinking.Adrienne Adams, who has not officially announced a plan to run, opened a campaign committee account last week, in the latest sign she is taking a serious look at adding her name into the race.Cuomo hit the campaign trail shortly after his video announcement, making a stop at 32BJ SEIU union headquarters in Manhattan, where he attended a candidate screening, followed by a stop for lunch at a Dominican restaurant in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx.Video posted on social media shows Cuomo shaking hands among diners as he makes his way around the restaurant. Campaign can leverage Cuomo’s many years in officeCuomo, the scion of a New York political dynasty, spent decades in government before his stunning 2021 fall from grace.Fresh off a job as President Bill Clinton’s Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, he launched a 2002 bid for governor against Carl McCall, who was state comptroller at the time and on track to become New York’s first Black governor. After a series of missteps and a racially charged race that alienated the city’s Black Democratic leaders, Cuomo, who had never held public office before, was forced to bow out of the contest in what he has described as one of the worst moments in his life.Years later, Cuomo successfully ran for New York attorney general in 2006, followed by a successful run for governor in 2010.Cuomo rose to national prominence at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, with daily televised briefings about how the virus was spreading across the state quickly becoming must-watch television for millions of Americans quarantining at home.But as the pandemic progressed, killing hundreds of thousands of people around the world, Cuomo’s response also faced intense scrutiny over a controversial directive to transfer recovering Covid-19 patients back to nursing homes. His administration was accused of manipulating data and death toll numbers to cover up the impact the nursing home decision had on thousands of people.Accusations of sexual harassment against Cuomo began to emerge in December 2020, including from Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former executive assistant and health policy adviser who said Cuomo asked her questions about her sex life while inside his office in the State Capitol. Bennett also said Cuomo told her he was open to relationships with women in their 20s.Lindsey Boylan, another former aide, also alleged in 2018 Cuomo kissed her on the lips following a one-on-one briefing in his New York office.Cuomo denied the allegations and apologized at the time for making comments he said had been misinterpreted.“I never touched anyone inappropriately,” Cuomo said in his first public remarks addressing the scandal. “I never knew at the time that I was making anyone feel uncomfortable.”Boylan said Saturday “New York City deserves better,” according to a piece in Vanity Fair.“As frustrated as city residents rightfully are about the behavior of its scandal-plagued mayor, Eric Adams, it can indeed get worse,” Boylan wrote.Run for mayor marks new chapterCuomo’s comeback has been in the making for months.A person familiar with Cuomo’s recent thinking said the campaign will not be “an apology tour.” Instead, Cuomo believes he has something to offer the city in this moment – as concerns over quality of life issues, public safety and affordability are at the top of voters’ minds. Having President Donald Trump, a native New Yorker, back in the White House also provides Cuomo an easy and familiar foil to rail against, this time from City Hall.Cuomo might have enough legal reasons to believe he no longer needs to apologize.He has notched a couple of recent victories that will allow him to set up a redemption narrative. While opponents are certain to point out his record and the scandals that plagued him, Cuomo can point to the recently dropped lawsuit by his accuser Bennett, who dropped the suit last December, shortly after she was set to be deposed in the case.Bennett accused Cuomo of weaponizing her own lawsuit against her and harassing her friends and family in the process.“Throughout this extraordinarily painful two-year case, I’ve many times believed that I’d be better off dead than endure more of his litigation abuse, which has caused extraordinary pain and expense to my family and friends,” Bennett said in a statement at the time. “I desperately need to live my life. That’s the choice I am making today.”Cuomo followed by immediately announcing his intent to file a new lawsuit, accusing Bennett of defamation.So far, Cuomo is relying on a handful of veteran aides and members of a tight-knit inner circle, sources familiar with the planning tell CNN, including Melissa DeRosa who served as secretary to the governor until just before his resignation, and Richard Azzopardi, Cuomo’s longtime chief spokesperson.Cuomo has also been seeking advice from a network of seasoned campaign operatives – including Tusk Strategies CEO Chris Coffey and Steven Cohen, Cuomo’s former chief of staff in the Attorney General’s office.For months now, a likely Cuomo candidacy has loomed over the race. Now that he is officially in the running, he has nearly $8 million sitting in his campaign war chest he could use, although there are rules about how he’s allowed to use the money.The money could give him a significant edge with just four months to go until the primary election.Cuomo, who has near universal name recognition not just in the city but across the state, has remained out of the public eye since 2021.The campaign video is a reintroduction of sorts for the former governor, who pitches himself as an experienced manager focused on public safety as he looks directly into the camera, delivering his campaign message as images of New York City play along. Cuomo casts himself as a moderate Democrat with the skills and record to respond to a city he says is in the midst of a crisis.“We know that today our New York City is in trouble. You feel it when you walk down the street and try not to make eye contact with a mentally ill homeless person or when the anxiety rises up in your chest as you’re walking down into the subway,” Cuomo says. “You see it in the empty storefronts, the graffiti, the grime, the migrant influx, the random violence – the city just feels threatening, out of control, and in crisis.”While he does not mention Adams by name, Cuomo blames “failed Democratic leadership” and a “lack of intelligent action” by the city’s political leaders in a clear shot at the current administration.In his video, Cuomo proposes increasing the number of police officers in the NYPD and deploying them into the subway system, transforming the city’s public housing stock and ending the “chaos of e-bikes” on city streets.While he has never run for mayor of New York, Cuomo is familiar with the cutthroat local politics needed to secure a winning coalition – it requires the city’s Black and Latino voters, union members and White ethnic New Yorkers who tend to lean more moderate despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans in party affiliation.While New York City remains overwhelmingly blue, the city did get a little bit more Republican following Trump’s election, a sign voters are disenchanted with the progressive politics that have dominated the five boroughs for the past decade and they are willing to embrace a more conservative candidate.In his video, Cuomo mentions Trump by name but does not criticize him, emphasizing his willingness to work with the federal administration.“I have worked with President Trump in many different situations and I hope President Trump remembers his hometown, and works with us to make it better,” Cuomo says.While Cuomo highlights his experience in office, a lot has changed in the city’s political landscape since the former governor left office – his opponents are ready to pounce on his record and remind voters of his scandals, the city’s relatively new ranked choice voting rules adds challenges for candidates and he will be facing the most competitive election in decades.
In a bid to make a political comeback, former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced Saturday he is running for mayor of New York City.
Related video above: Here’s How NY Gov. Hochul Could Oust NYC Mayor Eric Adams After His Corruption Charges
Cuomo made a 17-minute pitch for his candidacy in a video announcement released on his website, looking directly into the camera as images of New York City played along.
“We know that today our New York City is in trouble,” Cuomo says as the video shows images of homeless people on city streets and the city’s subways. “You see it in the empty storefronts, the graffiti, the grime, the migrant influx, the random violence. The city just feels threatening, out of control and in crisis.”
Cuomo’s entrance into the already crowded race sets up a potential political comeback for the former governor, who resigned from office in 2021 amid a sexual harassment scandal after 11 women accused him of sexual misconduct.
Cuomo has denied the allegations, which at the time were outlined in a report by the state attorney general.
The entrance also sets up a clash between the former governor and current New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who has been facing renewed scrutiny and calls to step aside after the Trump-led Department of Justice directed prosecutors to drop corruption charges against him.
Adams has denied all allegations of wrongdoing and his campaign did not return a request for comment
Cuomo has largely stayed out of the public eye since leaving office.
CNN previously reported Cuomo and his aides have been laying the groundwork for a run for months, encouraged by the controversy surrounding Adams.
Signs Cuomo was working to set up a run increased in recent days. Last week, allies for Cuomo launched a super PAC under the name “Fix the City,” according to State Board of Elections data.
Opposition quick to respond
Cuomo’s competitors reacted to the former governor’s announcement on Saturday.
There are at least eight candidates already in the race and lawmakers who do not want him back in office have been working behind the scenes to draft additional candidates to fend off Cuomo’s candidacy.
New York City Comptroller Brad Lander said Cuomo’s candidacy is the “last thing New Yorkers need right now is another agent of chaos.”
“The greatest city in the world deserves better than this,” said Lander, who has declared himself a mayoral candidate.
Scott Stringer, a mayoral candidate who also ran for mayor in 2021, released a video response to Cuomo’s announcement Saturday, saying the former governor has, “always put his ego and his interest ahead of our city.”
“Being mayor of New York may help Andrew Cuomo, but it don’t do a damn thing for New Yorkers,” Stringer said in the video.
New York State Attorney General Letitia James, who investigated the sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, has been working to draft City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams into the race, according to two sources familiar with her thinking.
Adrienne Adams, who has not officially announced a plan to run, opened a campaign committee account last week, in the latest sign she is taking a serious look at adding her name into the race.
Cuomo hit the campaign trail shortly after his video announcement, making a stop at 32BJ SEIU union headquarters in Manhattan, where he attended a candidate screening, followed by a stop for lunch at a Dominican restaurant in the Kingsbridge section of the Bronx.
Video posted on social media shows Cuomo shaking hands among diners as he makes his way around the restaurant.
Campaign can leverage Cuomo’s many years in office
Cuomo, the scion of a New York political dynasty, spent decades in government before his stunning 2021 fall from grace.
Fresh off a job as President Bill Clinton’s Department of Housing and Urban Development secretary, he launched a 2002 bid for governor against Carl McCall, who was state comptroller at the time and on track to become New York’s first Black governor. After a series of missteps and a racially charged race that alienated the city’s Black Democratic leaders, Cuomo, who had never held public office before, was forced to bow out of the contest in what he has described as one of the worst moments in his life.
Years later, Cuomo successfully ran for New York attorney general in 2006, followed by a successful run for governor in 2010.
Cuomo rose to national prominence at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, with daily televised briefings about how the virus was spreading across the state quickly becoming must-watch television for millions of Americans quarantining at home.
But as the pandemic progressed, killing hundreds of thousands of people around the world, Cuomo’s response also faced intense scrutiny over a controversial directive to transfer recovering Covid-19 patients back to nursing homes. His administration was accused of manipulating data and death toll numbers to cover up the impact the nursing home decision had on thousands of people.
Accusations of sexual harassment against Cuomo began to emerge in December 2020, including from Charlotte Bennett, a 25-year-old former executive assistant and health policy adviser who said Cuomo asked her questions about her sex life while inside his office in the State Capitol. Bennett also said Cuomo told her he was open to relationships with women in their 20s.
Lindsey Boylan, another former aide, also alleged in 2018 Cuomo kissed her on the lips following a one-on-one briefing in his New York office.
Cuomo denied the allegations and apologized at the time for making comments he said had been misinterpreted.
“I never touched anyone inappropriately,” Cuomo said in his first public remarks addressing the scandal. “I never knew at the time that I was making anyone feel uncomfortable.”
Boylan said Saturday “New York City deserves better,” according to a piece in Vanity Fair.
“As frustrated as city residents rightfully are about the behavior of its scandal-plagued mayor, Eric Adams, it can indeed get worse,” Boylan wrote.
Run for mayor marks new chapter
Cuomo’s comeback has been in the making for months.
A person familiar with Cuomo’s recent thinking said the campaign will not be “an apology tour.” Instead, Cuomo believes he has something to offer the city in this moment – as concerns over quality of life issues, public safety and affordability are at the top of voters’ minds. Having President Donald Trump, a native New Yorker, back in the White House also provides Cuomo an easy and familiar foil to rail against, this time from City Hall.
Cuomo might have enough legal reasons to believe he no longer needs to apologize.
He has notched a couple of recent victories that will allow him to set up a redemption narrative. While opponents are certain to point out his record and the scandals that plagued him, Cuomo can point to the recently dropped lawsuit by his accuser Bennett, who dropped the suit last December, shortly after she was set to be deposed in the case.
Bennett accused Cuomo of weaponizing her own lawsuit against her and harassing her friends and family in the process.
“Throughout this extraordinarily painful two-year case, I’ve many times believed that I’d be better off dead than endure more of his litigation abuse, which has caused extraordinary pain and expense to my family and friends,” Bennett said in a statement at the time. “I desperately need to live my life. That’s the choice I am making today.”
Cuomo followed by immediately announcing his intent to file a new lawsuit, accusing Bennett of defamation.
So far, Cuomo is relying on a handful of veteran aides and members of a tight-knit inner circle, sources familiar with the planning tell CNN, including Melissa DeRosa who served as secretary to the governor until just before his resignation, and Richard Azzopardi, Cuomo’s longtime chief spokesperson.
Cuomo has also been seeking advice from a network of seasoned campaign operatives – including Tusk Strategies CEO Chris Coffey and Steven Cohen, Cuomo’s former chief of staff in the Attorney General’s office.
For months now, a likely Cuomo candidacy has loomed over the race. Now that he is officially in the running, he has nearly $8 million sitting in his campaign war chest he could use, although there are rules about how he’s allowed to use the money.
The money could give him a significant edge with just four months to go until the primary election.
Cuomo, who has near universal name recognition not just in the city but across the state, has remained out of the public eye since 2021.
The campaign video is a reintroduction of sorts for the former governor, who pitches himself as an experienced manager focused on public safety as he looks directly into the camera, delivering his campaign message as images of New York City play along. Cuomo casts himself as a moderate Democrat with the skills and record to respond to a city he says is in the midst of a crisis.
“We know that today our New York City is in trouble. You feel it when you walk down the street and try not to make eye contact with a mentally ill homeless person or when the anxiety rises up in your chest as you’re walking down into the subway,” Cuomo says. “You see it in the empty storefronts, the graffiti, the grime, the migrant influx, the random violence – the city just feels threatening, out of control, and in crisis.”
While he does not mention Adams by name, Cuomo blames “failed Democratic leadership” and a “lack of intelligent action” by the city’s political leaders in a clear shot at the current administration.
In his video, Cuomo proposes increasing the number of police officers in the NYPD and deploying them into the subway system, transforming the city’s public housing stock and ending the “chaos of e-bikes” on city streets.
While he has never run for mayor of New York, Cuomo is familiar with the cutthroat local politics needed to secure a winning coalition – it requires the city’s Black and Latino voters, union members and White ethnic New Yorkers who tend to lean more moderate despite Democrats outnumbering Republicans in party affiliation.
While New York City remains overwhelmingly blue, the city did get a little bit more Republican following Trump’s election, a sign voters are disenchanted with the progressive politics that have dominated the five boroughs for the past decade and they are willing to embrace a more conservative candidate.
In his video, Cuomo mentions Trump by name but does not criticize him, emphasizing his willingness to work with the federal administration.
“I have worked with President Trump in many different situations and I hope President Trump remembers his hometown, and works with us to make it better,” Cuomo says.
While Cuomo highlights his experience in office, a lot has changed in the city’s political landscape since the former governor left office – his opponents are ready to pounce on his record and remind voters of his scandals, the city’s relatively new ranked choice voting rules adds challenges for candidates and he will be facing the most competitive election in decades.
