Ex-Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner got ‘unwanted' kisses from ‘bully' Andrew Cuomo: ‘It was about power with him'
The former mayor of Syracuse says then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo forcibly kissed her several times when she was in office, and she angrily describes the encounters as 'all about power.''
Longtime Cuomo foe Stephanie Miner, speaking to The Post on Monday about her new book, 'Madam Mayor,' recounted passages in her tome in which she claims she was kissed against her will by the then-governor while they were at loggerheads over policy issues during her two terms.'It was clearly unwanted. It was about power with him,' the Democrat said of the encounters — while blasting Cuomo's administration as a total 'failure.'
Miner, 54, called the busses a 'kiss from a bully' in her book.
'I did not find Andrew Cuomo's kisses any more objectionable than the other ways he bullied me. It was part of the rules of engagement as a politician,' wrote Miner, who was mayor from 2010 to 2018. 'I chose to be in the arena, and his kisses were the least of his control tactics.'
Miner recalled being invited to a Cuomo announcement regarding his Start-UP NY program at the SUNY Upstate Medical Center campus in 2013.
Under the program, firms could relocate tax-free, including being exempt from local property taxes — which Miner opposed because she said it deprived Syracuse of revenues to fund city services.
She had previously written an op-ed column critical of the governor, 67, and they were at loggerheads.
'I seethed. At the end of the event, the governor's staff grabbed me and ushered me to the receiving line, ensuring the media could see the governor greet me, thus confirming my support of the program,' Miner claimed in her book, the details of which were first reported by Politico.
'I was being manipulated but had no real choice,' she said. 'If I refused, it would cement me as someone who could not work with the most powerful elected official in the state. I felt like a trapped animal, and I knew my face gave away exactly how I was feeling.'
She noted that Cuomo greeted Onondaga County Executive, Joanie Mahoney, with a kiss.
'I thought, what if he tries to kiss me? When Cuomo got to me, he grabbed my hand and, with a big smile on his face, leaned in to kiss me. I instinctively leaned out, feeling myself flush red, and murmured a hello while the cameras snapped,' Miner said.
'Given that he was about six feet tall, and I was five three, he was able to easily envelop me. … To be clear, I was furious about the manipulation and the illusory economic-development promises, not the kiss,' she said.
She also recalled Cuomo delivering one of his regional State of the State policy addresses in Syracuse in 2017.'As his cameraman furiously clicked away, Cuomo greeted everyone with a hug or a kiss. I was in the middle of the row with multiple people on either side of me. There was no escape. When he got to me, he surrounded me and kissed me,' Miner said.'Did I want that?' Miner continued. 'No. Was it clear from my body language, my facial expression, and everything he knew about me I did not want that? Yes, which is why he did it: to show his political dominance.'With Andrew Cuomo, his kissing me was about power. I never viewed it as sexual. We were gladiators in a public ring and that's how he showed he was boss.'
Miner, who ran as an independent candidate against Cuomo in 2018, said she never brought up the unwanted smooches from Cuomo before, not even while other women, including staffers, accused him of sexual misconduct. Cuomo, though denying the other women's accusations, resigned from office under the threat of impeachment.But 'anyone who was familiar with the dynamic between us knew the kisses were unwanted,' Miner said.
The Cuomo camp dismissed Miner as a has-been.
'Our great city is in crisis and New Yorkers know Andrew Cuomo is the only person in this race with the experience, leadership and the proven record to take on the hard issues and make New York a safer and more affordable place for all,' said Cuomo campaign spokesman Richard Azzopardi.
'New Yorkers aren't stupid, they have known Andrew Cuomo for decades and are not going to be swayed by an long-since retired upstate mayor who ran against him years ago, lost by 58 points, fell off the face of the earth and has now resurfaced using his name to try to sell a book.'
Azzopardi also called the claim of unwanted kissing 'silly.'
'There's nothing here to suggest that this was anything other than a peck on the cheek. It's the customary greeting since the dawn of civilization,' the Cuomo rep said.
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Chicago Tribune
2 hours ago
- Chicago Tribune
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New York Post
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- New York Post
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4 hours ago
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The ultimate loser of Trump and Musk's bloody battle royale could be the nation
Godzilla vs King Kong. Ali vs Frazier. Yankees vs. Red Sox. Trump vs. Musk is bigger than all of them because — unlike the first match — this one is real. And unlike the other two, it has real-world consequences. The future of the republic — not to mention the future of Tesla, SpaceX and Musk's other cutting-edge tech companies — could be at stake, depending on how bad it all gets. Of course, with this pair, they could make up while this column is at the printer. Musk is known to do 180s in business like most people breathe, and he seems open (at least for now) to rapprochement. That's why, after tanking during early rounds of the fight, Tesla shares spiked on Friday. Trump, meanwhile, can be forgiving when he sees an opportunity. Remember how he mocked 'Little Marco,' who after a MAGA-esque transformation is now Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Trump wanted to ban TikTok but as I was first to report, he's extending its life in the US. He came to believe that even if it is Chinese spyware, it helped him win a second term. But there's a better case that the Trump-Musk feud will linger. These men maintain some of the biggest egos on the planet; Musk actually thinks he's the reason Trump got elected since Elon owns X (formerly Twitter), which became a MAGA megaphone. If you know Trump like I do, someone taking credit for his success is a third rail. Plus, Musk isn't a natural convert to MAGA. These dudes bonded because Musk, a former Democrat, believed his party lost its mind on woke. His EV maker Tesla, a darling of the environmental movement, has a big operation in China, the main target of Trump's trade war. Musk called Peter Navarro, Trump's lead trade warrior, 'Peter Retarrdo' because Elon's no fan of tariffs. For his part, Trump is no budget hawk. It's telling that this fight started with Musk's critique that the president's 'big, beautiful bill' spends too much money. It quickly exposed other fissures lurking beneath the surface, according to my sources, and now it has gotten messy. No way to treat a pal Trump is teeing up killing all of Musk's lucrative government contracting after Musk outrageously — and foolishly — claimed the president is holding back the Jeffrey Epstein files because Trump's in the docs in some nefarious way. Not a way to treat a friend, particularly a powerful one. All of which gets me to laying odds on the winner if this feud keeps going. I say Trump is the heavy favorite. Musk has no political base, even if he splinters and begins spending his billions on Dems. Yes, some lefties are relishing the battle, but Musk will never be acceptable to most Democrats for the unforgivable sin of aiding Trump, then via DOGE cutting all that government lefty spending. Charlie Gasparino has his finger on the pulse of where business, politics and finance meet Sign up to receive On The Money by Charlie Gasparino in your inbox every Thursday. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Meanwhile, Musk poses little threat to MAGA. He's not a natural politician — he's not even comfortable in his own skin. He controls X and has a huge following, but Trump has his own following and social media platform that attracts as much media attention. And Trump can hit him where it hurts — his pocketbook. Musk is the world's richest man, but mostly on paper. It could diminish fast given how much of it is built on government work. Recall Musk smoking a joint on Joe Rogan, which is a no-no when you do defense contracting as SpaceX does. I reported how it sparked scrutiny by the feds that went nowhere. Maybe now it goes somewhere. Musk's accounting at Tesla has drawn regulatory attention in the past; it now might get some more. The company just had a lousy quarter as its lefty EV-buying base went somewhere else. Shares have recovered somewhat but remain under pressure. They fell as much as 16% when the feud went defcon. Trump could go after other parts of the Musk empire. The president could throttle SpaceX's government contracts, using the weed issue as an excuse to re-examine the relationship. Maybe more of those go by the wayside along with all his other government contracts. Musk is obviously miffed that Trump's tax bill didn't cut enough fat, but what might have really stoked his anger is that it did take aim at various green-tax credits that Tesla has feasted upon. Musk's recklessness in his attacks underscores one of his weaknesses as a CEO; he once said he had a buyer to take it private at a premium but no one emerged. And you wonder why the Epstein barb shouldn't be taken seriously. The smarter move Yes, Trump has a lot of levers to pull to get at what makes Musk so powerful. But here's why he shouldn't: For all of Musk's flaws, he's smart and has his finger on the pulse of the emerging economy. Tesla's tech is first-rate. SpaceX is transformational, and serves a significant national security function. Musk is rich and can continue to elect Republicans to keep Trump from being impeached and derailing what is really working in his second term, such as his war on woke, closing the border and, when this tariff stuff subsidies, tax cuts to grow the economy. And they did make beautiful music together exposing stuff with DOGE. Someone please call a timeout.
