Time Has Come For Cuomo To Resign From Office
The calls for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign have come loud and clear from every corner of the state, seemingly regardless of political affiliation.
We join those calls.
We have been a frequent critic of the governor’s in this corner of the world, but felt earlier this year that the governor deserved due process before being called on to resign. The release this week of Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation on claims of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior toward women working in the governor’s executive offices provided that due process.
An exhaustive investigation — by a Democrat previously endorsed by Cuomo, no less — not only backed up the claims made by women earlier this year but uncovered additional verifiable instances of Cuomo’s inappropriate actions toward women.
“2017 brought a long overdue reckoning where the pervasive poison of workplace sexual harassment was exposed by brave women and men who said this ends now,” Cuomo tweeted on Jan. 2, 2018. “Our challenge in government is to turn society’s revulsion into reform. There must be zero tolerance for sexual harassment in any workplace, and we can and will end the secrecy and coercive practices that have enabled harassment for far too long.”
Shortly after that tweet, the governor imposed very strict guidelines that all businesses had to follow to ensure they had strict sexual harassment policies in place that the state approved. Apparently, based on James’ report, those same policies implemented by Cuomo the governor didn’t stop Cuomo the alleged harasser.
The governor who has talked tough about women’s equality his entire time in public office must now live up to his words. There must be zero tolerance for sexual harassment in any workplace, including the executive office building. Were the governor in the employ of most private businesses, the evidence would dictate he be fired. If the governor refuses to leave on his own, the Assembly should file articles of impeachment and the state Senate should remove Cuomo from office.
A chorus of elected officials were unanimous this week in calling for Cuomo to step down. We join that chorus. It is time for Cuomo to go.
