NEW YORK — Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday that he would resign from office effective August 24, following mounting pressure a week after a report from the New York Attorney General’s Office concluded he sexually harassed multiple women in violation of state and federal laws.

“I am grateful to all the women who came forward to tell their stories in painstaking detail, enabling investigators to get to the truth,” Attorney General Letitia James said last week. “No man — no matter how powerful — can be allowed to harass women or violate our human rights laws, period.”

As the Democrat reported last week, Attorney General James said that the governor and his staff took action to retaliate against at least one former employee who went public with her accusations.

“[The] Executive Chamber fostered a ‘toxic’ workplace that enabled ‘harassment to occur and created a hostile work environment,’” the report read.

Before announcing his resignation, Gov. Cuomo’s attorney, Rita Glavin, pushed back against the report and accused the Attorney General’s investigators of bias. Glavin claimed the report contained errors, omitted evidence and that the governor was being tried in the media.

During his remarks, Cuomo admitted that he had been “too familiar” with people, but denied any serious misconduct.

“There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have,” Cuomo said. He stated that his first instinct was to fight the conclusions of the Attorney General’s investigation, but doing so would result in many months of litigation.

“Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that government should be doing, and I cannot be the cause of that,” Cuomo said. “Given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let the government get back to governing. Therefore, that’s what I’ll do.”

Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul will become governor once Cuomo’s resignation becomes effective on August 24. She will be the first woman in New York history to serve in that office.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Hochul said that Cuomo’s decision to step down is “appropriate and in the best interests of New York.”

Hochul announced she will begin forming her cabinet over the next few weeks and pledged to “fight like hell” for all New Yorkers.

She stated that no one named in the Attorney General’s report exhibiting unethical behavior would remain in her administration.

“No one will ever describe my administration as a ‘toxic’ work environment,” Hochul said.
Hochul was born and raised in Buffalo and served as Erie County Clerk from 2007 to 2011. She represented New York’s 26th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 until 2013, becoming lieutenant Governor in 2015.

Local reactions
State Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther called on the governor to resign months ago, but said she was relieved that he had finally realized he needed to step aside for the good of New Yorkers.

“I have known Lt. Gov. Hochul for many years, and I have the utmost confidence in her ability to bring people together,” Gunther said. “We could not ask for anyone better to take over in such difficult circumstances. I stand ready to work with her and her administration and to help in any way I can.”
State Senator Mike Martucci was among one of the first lawmakers who called on Cuomo to resign back in March.

“Governor Cuomo’s resignation is long overdue, but I’m glad he finally came to the obvious realization that all of us came to long ago,” Martucci said. “The culture of abuse, intimidation, lies and bullying that he brought to state government were among our state’s darkest chapters. Thankfully we are closing the book on that era today.”

Martucci pledged to work with Hochul and other lawmakers in the State Legislature to move forward.
“Finally, I want to recognize the bravery, resilience and strength of all of the Governor’s victims,” Martucci continued. “Today is a day you receive a measure of justice, and our State can look to better and brighter days ahead.”

Steve Vegliante, chairman of the Sullivan County Democratic Committee, said that “With his resignation, Governor Cuomo has acknowledged that he could no longer effectively lead our State. We are grateful that this sad chapter in our State is coming to a close and we applaud the courage of the women who stepped forward. The Sullivan County Democratic Committee and I personally welcome incoming Governor Kathy Hochul, the first woman to lead our State.”

Vegliante praised Hochul as “an accomplished and effective leader at almost every level of government. We are confident that on becoming Governor she will lead the way to a brighter, stronger future. We call on all parties and all leaders to coalesce behind Governor Hochul and work together to help our State overcome the challenges we face, both economically and in defeating the pandemic.”