Andrew Cuomo's independent run: Letters to the Editor — July 16, 2025
It is incomprehensible that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo would even think about running for political office again at any level ('Cuo: Hell no, I won't go,' July 15).
Does he think people forgot about the decisions he made during COVID that resulted in the horrible deaths of countless elderly people?
His involvement in the bail-reform laws have also contributed mightily to the deaths of innocent people and diminished the quality of life in New York City.
This is a man with no conscience or self-awareness who is utterly obsessed with power.
He just needs to fade into obscurity so we can forget he was ever in the public eye.
Robert DiNardo
Farmingdale
If voters don't want Zohran Mamdani, they should rally around a more competent, although flawed, Cuomo.
Mayor Adams is a proven failure.
Otherwise, don't complain if Mamdani wins.
Robert Berk
Manhattan
Neither Mamdani nor Cuomo are deserving of the mayorship.
However, Adams and Curtis Sliwa need to drop out of the race for mayor and support Cuomo if they truly have the best interests for New Yorkers.
Edwin Young
The Bronx
Why don't Adams and Cuomo swallow their pride and do the right thing for New York City?
They should flip a coin or cut cards and whoever loses should support the other candidate.
If they truly want to prevent Zohran Mamdani — who is supported by the dumbest of our city — from becoming mayor and completely destroying our city, they will do this for New York.
Joseph Napoleone
Richmond Hill
Cuomo and Adams just don't know when it's time to quit.
Cuomo got caught up in a scandal, and Adams got caught up in corruption.
They both should go off into the sunset.
Sadly, they are not smart enough to do that.
Gene O'Brien
Whitestone
Looks like NYC is going to have a socialist mayor.
The once-greatest city in the world will be no more — no thanks to Andrew Cuomo, who is a disgrace.
Under his watch, 15,000 nursing-home patients died from COVID and many of his staffers claim they were sexually harassed.
He's also known for saying America 'was never that great.'
J.R. Cummings
Manhattan
It's typical of Cuomo and his ego to think he's still relevant to voters.
The Cuomo name was ultimately dishonored with his lack of sexual control.
I am not a fan of Adams, but unfortunately New York City is so mired in Democratic politics that the chances for Sliwa are slim.
Kevin Judge
Naples, Fla.
The Issue: A fired pediatrician's apology for saying Texas flood victims got 'what they voted for.'
The Texas pediatrician, Christina Propst — who heartlessly commented that the flood victims got what they deserved for voting for President Trump — is now trying to take back her shameless remark ('Oh doc, Cry me a river,' July 11).
She is saying she didn't know there were any victims when she posted these remarks.
Sorry, but that won't fly.
Did she expect that there would be no casualties after all that flooding?
Warren Goldfein
Mount Arlington, NJ
This doesn't surprise me; Trump Derangement Syndrome knows no bounds.
Propst's apology is weak and transparent.
Even if she didn't know about so many dying, it is still absolutely horrible to wish terrible things on people who don't agree with you politically.
I am sure glad she was never my kid's pediatrician.
Chris Plate
Waterloo
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Andrew Cuomo — a registered Democrat like Adams also running as an independent — remain in the race. 'I got to win the race based on what I do best, and that's campaign,' said Adams during an interview Thursday on the backyard porch of Gracie Mansion. The trio are jockeying for the votes of moderate Dems and Republicans, as well as the largest swath of the independent voters. Cuomo and Adams have repeatedly called for each other to drop out of the race, claiming only they can stave off the young far-left socialist from being handed the keys to New York City. Adams, who has repeatedly cozied up to the president, skirted questions about whether he'd even want a Trump endorsement considering Dems outnumber Republicans 6-1 in the city. 5 Trump has declined to comment who he will support NYC mayor, instead telling reporters earlier this week, 'I don't want to say.' AFP via Getty Images However, he wondered out loud why Cuomo didn't get the same criticism he received from lefty critics after Trump on Tuesday said the ex-governor should stay in the race because he 'has a shot' to beat Mamdani and prevent a 'communist' from running NYC. Trump declined to say who he would support, instead telling reporters on the White House lawn, 'I don't want to say.' Adams also skirted questions on whether he'd accept the Republican line if it became available. For that scenario to play out, Sliwa, 71, under state election law, would either first have to accept a federal appointment or die. There's also some precedent for him to be removed from the ballot if he moves out of Gotham and alerts election officials he can't serve as mayor. Adams would then need the backing of at least three of the five Republican county chairs to replace Sliwa on the Republican line. 5 Socialist Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is frontrunner to become NYC's next mayor. Paul Martinka Sliwa, however, insists he remains all in on his mayoral bid — even though he's not expecting a Trump endorsement based on past bad blood between the two. Although Trump has yet to reach out to Adams, he has repeatedly blasted Mamdani after the socialist's stunning upset in New York's Democratic mayoral primary last month. 'Democrats have crossed the line by elevating a 100% Communist Lunatic,' Trump railed in a Truth Social post on June 25. Adams has repeatedly come under fire from his party's far-left faction for having a good working relationship with the Republican president. 5 Ex-Mayor Bill de Blasio said Adams should avoid a Trump endorsement if he wants to be re-elected. William Farrington Some pols and political pundits say Adams could see a significant bump in support from Trump-loving Republicans and moderate Democrats if the president offered the mayor his support. 'Moderates Democrats might have a problem with Trump, but they're more likely to have a bigger problem with Mamdani,' said Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime Democratic consultant. 'They might look at Adams and say he's a [retired NYPD] cop and understands all our problems.' Yet Adams should expect little support from New Yorkers who voted for Mamdani in the Democratic primary — especially if Trump endorses him, Sheinkopf added. Far-left ex-NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio agreed, adding a potential endorsement from Trump would all but doom Adams' re-election campaign. De Blasio told The Post his advice for any candidate in the left-leaning Metropolis — including Adams — is 'you're going to lose more than you gain' with a Trump endorsement, considering only 30% of NYC voters supported Trump in last year's presidential election. 5 Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo — a registered Democrat like Adams — also is running for mayor as an independent. 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"I feel awful about it and, frankly, I am embarrassed by it," he said in a video statement, before doubling down on his statement that he "never touched anyone inappropriately." On Friday, July 19, the state of New York agreed to pay $450,000 to settle a lawsuit from Brittany Commisso, an ex-aide of Cuomo's who alleged he had sexually harassed and groped her while he was in office. In a statement, Commisso's lawyers referred to the settlement as 'a complete vindication of her claims' and said that Commisso is "glad to be able to move forward with her life." In response, lawyers for Cuomo said: 'The settlement is not a vindication, it is capitulation to avoid the truth," and once again referred to the allegations as "false." Heersink says that Cuomo has not addressed the allegations in his newly-relaunched mayoral campaign. "It's clearly not going to go away. If he's actually going to be actively out there campaigning, it's actually going to come up quite a lot in setups that he can't control,' Heersink says. 'It's a reason for a lot of people to never vote for Cuomo, [and] there's a decent number of people that I think are at least uncomfortable with it.' Cuomo has also come under fire over his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic during his time as New York Governor and the testimony he gave in regards to the high number of deaths reported in nursing homes during that time. Cuomo can't have tunnel vision. He must not only defeat Mamdani, but Adams and Sliwa too If Cuomo, Adams, and Sliwa split the non-Mamdani vote, Mamdani will 'certainly' win, Heersink says, arguing that Cuomo needs to convince all those who say they are supporting Adams or Sliwa 'to transfer their support to him, so that he can prevent Mamdani from winning the election.' In order to do that, Heersink says Cuomo will need to posit Mamdani as a 'real threat,' but this could admittedly descend into a 'negative' campaign, something he may be keen to avoid. In an interview with the New York Magazine, published earlier this week, Cuomo appeared to be on board, at least partly, with a renewed approach, admitting that this time around he needs to be 'aggressive across the board.' For Laura Tamman, a professor of political science at Pace University, the issue is that Mamdani has often done better with someone to villainize against. So Cuomo's efforts on that front could end up backfiring. 'Cuomo is a good person for Mamdani to excite people against,' she says. 'It's helpful for fundraising. It's helpful for galvanizing volunteers.' (Cuomo's Super Pac battled hard against Mamdani in the primary, yet he didn't defeat him.) Tamman echoes Heersink's argument that Cuomo will need to consolidate all of the non-Democrat voters, as well as a 'healthy number' of people who are registered as Democrats, in order to claim victory in November. It's because of this that Brian Arbour, associate professor of political science at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, argues that partisanship will be Cuomo's enemy. 'It's a partisan election, and you somehow have to get Democrats not to vote for the Democrat,' he says. Cuomo can't undervalue the importance of likeability Cuomo does not have the 'winner vibe' around him right now, experts tell TIME, so he will need to find a 'positive reason' for people to rally behind him, rather than just a 'negative reason' to not vote for the other candidates. Cuomo, in his latest campaign video and interviews, is seemingly trying to come across as more approachable, experts argue, with Heersink saying it perhaps shows that he has 'learned something' from the Democratic primary upset. 'The approach that he [Cuomo] took in the Democratic primary was, essentially, 'I'm gonna win this thing so I don't actually have to talk to you,'' says Heersink. 'In the primary, he barely campaigned—he was a candidate, but most of the actual campaigning on his behalf was being done by his Super PAC.' Cuomo could be seen shaking the hands of New Yorkers on the street, visiting subway stations, and engaging in more community-driven activities as he announced his re-entry to the race. But Camille Rivera, a political campaign strategist at New Deals Strategies, remains unconvinced this approach will resonate with voters after the primary. She argues that 'not being available for people or press doesn't work in New York City' and that it could feel 'disingenuous' and 'offensive to voters' to start now. Finding an issue to galvanize voters around Mamdani's success, in part, stems from his centering of the issue of affordability, and the popularity of his calls to 'freeze the rent,' make buses free, and provide free childcare in the city. Heersink says that Cuomo will need to find an equally compelling issue of his own to galvanize voters around. 'I think if you were to ask people what are the policies that Cuomo ran on in the Democratic primary, they would have a tough time summarizing that,' he says. 'To be fair, I think that's a criticism you can make of lots of candidates in the Democratic primary.' Yet, Mamdani differentiated himself in this sense, making sure that his policies stood out. When discussing his re-entry to the race, Cuomo told New York Magazine that combatting crime will be a core focus of his platform. 'We either stop the crime, stop the exodus, or we pivot now and start to bring the city back,' he said. 'But I believe it's A or B. You continue the decline and we have real trouble. Or we take a different path to start to make some changes. And I think Mamdani takes us in exactly the wrong direction.' Yet, with Adams in the race, Arbour says that it will be harder for Cuomo to "differentiate himself on this issue,' as it's a core principle of Adams' platform, too. "It's certainly the issue that Adams wants to talk about [also], and it fits with his background,' Arbour says, highlighting Adams' focus on combatting crime since his election in 2021.
