New York Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, both Democrats, called for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign from office on Sunday after two additional women stepped forward on Saturday night accusing the New York Democratic governor of inappropriate behavior.
Several women who previously worked in Cuomo’s administration have accused him of sexual harassment of some form over the past two weeks. Stewart-Cousins, the New York state Democratic senator who represents Yonkers, previously told reporters two days ago that she would call for Cuomo to leave office if one more accuser stepped forward.
“Every day there is another account that is drawing away from the business of government. We have allegations about sexual harassment, a toxic work environment, the loss of credibility surrounding the Covid-19 nursing home data and questions about the construction of a major infrastructure project,” Stewart-Cousins said in a statement.
BACK-TO-BACK ADD MORE ACCUSATIONS OF INAPPROPRIATE CONDUCT AGAINST NEW YORK GOV. ANDREW CUOMO
“New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health, and economic impacts of it. We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state Governor Cuomo needs to resign,” she added.
Heastie supported Stewart-Cousins, saying in his statement, “The allegations pertaining to the Governor that have been reported in recent weeks have been deeply disturbing, and have no place whatsoever in government, the workplace or anywhere else.” He added, “I too share the sentiment of Senate Majority Leader Stewart-Cousins regarding Cuomo’s ability to lead this state. We may have many challenges to address, and I think it’s time for the Governor to seriously consider whether he can effectively meet the needs of the people of New York.”
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Stewart-Cousins and Heastie are the most powerful state and party leaders to date to call for Cuomo’s resignation and Stewart-Cousins’s statement will likely cause a cascade of fellow Democrats at the state, local, and congressional levels to call for Cuomo, a three-term governor who’s seeking reelection next year, to step down.
New York City’s Comptroller, Scott Stringer, a Democrat and mayoral candidate, called for Cuomo’s resignation several hours after Stewart-Cousins’s and Heastie’s announcements.
Cuomo, however, expecting both Democratic legislative leaders to call for his resignation, announced on Sunday after the two new accusers stepped forward that he would not resign from office.
