Andrew Cuomo goes out with a handful of ‘firecrackers’

Outgoing New York governor said he had been the victim of a ‘political firecracker’.

Andrew Cuomo insisted an inquiry that found he sexually harassed multiple women, including staffers, had been designed to force him to quit. Picture: AFP

Outgoing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he had been the victim of a “political firecracker” as he made a defiant farewell address on his last day in office after resigning over sexual harassment allegations.

In a pre-recorded speech, the once-powerful Democrat insisted on Monday (Tuesday AEST) that an inquiry that found he sexually harassed multiple women, including staffers, was designed to force him to quit.

“There was a political and media stampede. But the truth will out in time. Of that, I am confident,” said Mr Cuomo, who hands over the reins of America’s fourth-most populous state to Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul.

Mr Cuomo — son of three-term governor Mario Cuomo — led New York for a decade, first winning election in 2010.

Early last year, he was widely praised for comforting Americans with daily, straight-talking televised briefings about the coronavirus pandemic.

His performances in contrast to Donald Trump’s, which sowed confusion, led to clamour among some Democrats for a presidential run.

His stock started to slide as he became engulfed in accusations he covered up the extent of Covid-19 deaths at nursing homes. Several women then came forward this year alleging that the 63-year-old had behaved inappropriately towards them. The accusations culminated in an explosive report by state Attorney-General Letitia James in early August that said he sexually harassed 11 women, including by unwanted touching.

Mr Cuomo strenuously denied the allegations and initially rejected calls to quit, including from President Joe Biden, but as an impeachment investigation by state representatives gathered steam, he announced on August 10 that he was resigning and would step down two weeks later.

In his goodbye address, he said a “rush to judgment” had caused a media “frenzy” that was not “right, fair, or sustainable”.

He also touted some of his achievements, including the legalisation of same-sex marriage in New York in 2011 and an increase in the state’s minimum wage to $U15 an hour in December 2019. “No governor in the nation has passed more progressive measures than I have,” he said.

Mr Cuomo, who had coveted a fourth term to surpass his ­father, thanked voters for “the honour of serving” them.

“I want you to know, from the bottom of my heart, that every day I worked my hardest. I gave it my all and I tried my best to deliver for you. And that is the God’s honest truth,” he said.

Ms Hochul, also a Democrat, will become New York’s first woman governor when she takes the oath of office in the state capital Albany in the first few minutes of Tuesday.

AFP