Report makes clear Cuomo must go

Tingley book heading to printers; second book has tentative title

The Front Page

Morning Update

Saturday, August 7, 2021

By Ken Tingley

Ten years later it is easy to forget that Andrew Cuomo did some good things.

Four months after becoming governor, Cuomo got the Legislature to make same-sex marriage the law of the state. That was highly controversial at the time, but a way of life today.

A year later, he checked rampant school spending by getting a property tax cap passed in the Legislature. It is still keeping our taxes in check today. It may be single most important piece of legislation for upstate residents in decades.

After Sandy Hook, he got some of the most aggressive gun laws in the country passed with the Safe Act. While those are still fighting words in many upstate communities, the reality is that it imposed tougher sentences on criminals throughout the state and led to longer jail terms for criminals, especially in New York City.

By the time Gov. Cuomo had taken office, the Legislature was rife with corruption. Leaders Sheldon Silver and Dean Shells were indicted for alleged misdeeds. Ironically, there were many sexual harassment lawsuits. And Cuomo appointed the Moreland Commission to investigate the corruption.

Then, almost as abruptly, he disbanded it.

That’s when he lost my confidence. Colleagues covering state government spoke regularly of Freedom of Information requests that were delayed for months. There were scandals involving others in his administration and campaign that Gov. Cuomo was close to.

His reputation grew as a bully.

When I was on the editorial board at The Post-Star, we endorsed the Republican each of the past two campaigns because of his administration’s lack of transparency and links to scandals.

The sexual harassment accusations are the worst yet. Read the attorney general report and see how 11 different women describe the governor’s behavior in the workplace.

It is from another era and cannot be tolerated.

The attorney general reported, “we found his (Cuomo) denials to lack credibility and to be inconsistent with the weight of the evidence obtained during our investigation. We also found the Governor’s denials and explanations around specific allegations to be contrived.”

Ms. McGrath, one of the complainants, summarized the culture with the Executive Chamber of the Governor’s office as follows:

“What makes it so hard to describe every single inappropriate incident is the culture of the place. On one hand, he makes all this inappropriate and creepy behavior normal and like you should not complain. On the other hand, you see people get punished and screamed at if you do anything where you disagree with him or his top aides. I really just wanted to go to work and be recognized for my work and nothing else.”

The report also found that “the complainants’ fears of retaliation were justified.”

The governor should resign.

If he does not resign, he should be impeached.

No amount of good deeds will counter deplorable behavior, especially when it comes to sexual harassment in the workplace.

When Gov. Cuomo was considering a presidential run some years ago, he published a 517 page memoir. It’s title: “All things possible: Setback and success in politics and life.”

This latest episode is more than just another setback, it is a death knell. He needs to accept that and resign.

Book update

After a production glitch a week ago, my collection of columns is back on track and was submitted to the printer this week.

For all of you that have taken part in the presale of the book, you should be getting it in the next couple of weeks. The book - The Last American Editor - can still be preordered.

There are 23 pretty good reviews as well that you might want to check out.

Book #2

My second book, although I technically wrote this one first, has a tentative cover and title - The Last American Newspaper.

It is a memoir of the great work done by the editors and reporters at my newspaper over the past two decades.

It’s a love-letter to journalism.

I will keep you updated as we move through the process. I expect a spring publication.

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