Latest news with #Cuomo2023
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Andrew Cuomo's bid for New York City mayor endorsed by rival in surprise turn
Andrew Cuomo's bid to become New York City's mayor received a surprising boost on Friday when one of his rivals, Queens state senator Jessica Ramos, endorsed the former governor after having previously questioned his mental acuity and describing him as a bully with a record of sexual misconduct allegations. Ramos punctuated her stunning U-turn with a surprise appearance at a campaign rally in Manhattan, where she hugged Cuomo and said she believed he was 'the one best positioned right now to protect this city'. 'We need someone in City Hall who knows how to hold the line and deliver under pressure,' Ramos said in a statement shared on Cuomo's campaign website, just weeks after she claimed his 'mental acuity is in decline'. Ramos also said she had worked with Cuomo 'to raise wages, protect immigrant workers, and pass major labor reforms', and she added that she believed he could 'go toe-to-toe' with the Donald Trump administration 'when it counts'. The endorsement from Ramos comes days after the first the New York City Democratic mayoral primary debate, during which Cuomo faced attacks over his gubernatorial administration's handling of nursing home deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic and sexual harassment allegations against him that prompted his resignation. In 2021, Ramos was one of the first Democratic lawmakers to call for Cuomo to resign over those sexual harassment allegations, which he has denied. An investigation by the state attorney general found he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women – most of whom worked for him – and also retaliated after some made complaints. Ramos in March accused Cuomo's mayoral run of being a 'vanity comeback tour'. She said Cuomo 'brings nothing to this race but baggage'. 'Hard pass on Andrew,' she wrote. Also in March, she called Cuomo 'a corrupt bully with a record of alleged sexual misconduct'. As recently as Wednesday, Ramos said she wished she 'lived in a city where voters cared about women getting harassed. 'We talk about it all the time, but I'm not running about Andrew Cuomo's record,' she told Politico. 'I'm running on my own record.' Ramos's allies on the progressive left greeted her endorsement of Cuomo with dismay – including several organizations that had backed her mayoral candidacy. The Working Families party said it was 'sad and disappointed' by Ramos's 'desperate' decision. The New York City council member Chi Ossé said he was 'hurt' by Ramos's announcement. 'I've always respected her for the work she's done for our city and state,' Ossé wrote on X. 'To see her throw of all her values away and betray the [New Yorkers] she's been fighting for is heartbreaking and disgusting.' The actor Cynthia Nixon, who ran and lost to Cuomo in the 2018 Democratic primary, said on X that she was 'choosing to remember the Jessica Ramos' who 'supported the women who were sexually harassed, remembered the people Cuomo sent to die in nursing homes [and] always called out Cuomo's corruption, mismanagement [and] lies'. 'I'll miss that Ramos,' Nixon added. 'Where did she go?' Ramos said her decision to back Cuomo is what is known as a cross-endorsement, for she does not intend to drop out of the race. Cuomo, meanwhile, told reporters on Friday he would not be returning the favor and endorsing Ramos. However, in a statement, Cuomo said: 'Senator Ramos is a fighter for working New Yorkers, and we are all better off for her leadership. 'Senator Ramos and I are both … tough and protective of our families and neighbors, and by extension we are protective of all New Yorkers.' The closely watched mayoral race in heavily Democratic New York City has largely settled into a two-way fight between Cuomo, the current frontrunner, and the democratic socialist candidate Zohran Mamdani. The incumbent Eric Adams is running as an independent. On Thursday, Mamdani received the prominent endorsement of US congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who told New York Times that Mamdani 'demonstrated a real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack'. Ocasio-Cortez ranked five candidates – but left Ramos off her slate.
New York Times
14 hours ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Jessica Ramos Will Endorse Andrew Cuomo for New York City Mayor
Andrew M. Cuomo's bid to become mayor of New York City will receive an unexpected boost from a rival Democratic candidate on Friday, when Jessica Ramos will announce that she is endorsing him. Ms. Ramos, a state senator from Queens, is a progressive Democrat who has been one of the harshest campaign critics of Mr. Cuomo, the former New York governor who resigned in 2021 after a sexual harassment scandal. She said in April that Mr. Cuomo's 'mental acuity is in decline' and that New Yorkers could not afford a 'Joe Biden moment' at City Hall, in reference to the former president's age and health concerns. But on Friday, Ms. Ramos will appear at a campaign event with Mr. Cuomo to announce her endorsement, just two days after the two were among nine Democrats sparring on a debate stage. Ms. Ramos said she was 'staying in the race' and would remain on the ballot, but her endorsement of Mr. Cuomo is effectively an acknowledgment that she cannot win. She said she was supporting Mr. Cuomo because 'he's the one best positioned right now to protect this city.' 'With Trump threatening to bulldoze New York and take us backward, we need someone in City Hall who knows how to hold the line and deliver under pressure,' she said. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- New York Times
Live Updates: Democrats Running for N.Y.C. Mayor Are Set to Debate
Nine Democrats will take the stage Wednesday night for the first debate of the primary. A mayoral indictment. A Cuomo comeback attempt. And the rise of a socialist upstart. The race for mayor of New York City has already been anything but tranquil. On Wednesday night, it will enter an even more combative phase, as nine of the candidates competing for the Democratic nomination meet for the first of two televised debates before the June 24 primary. The stakes are high for candidates hoping to shake up the race and for the city they want to lead as it confronts a growing affordability crisis, persistent concerns about crime and threats from President Trump. The attention will be on Andrew M. Cuomo, the former governor who has dominated polls since he entered the race in March. Mr. Cuomo has run a low-show campaign, cruising on millions of dollars from wealthy donors, his family name and his successes as governor rebuilding LaGuardia Airport and raising the minimum wage. But four years after he resigned as governor amid sexual harassment allegations he denies, Mr. Cuomo, 67, is trying to reintroduce himself to voters on favorable terms, and his rivals have prepared to team up to re-litigate his decades-long record. Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a 33-year-old from Queens, has been the race's unexpected standout, surging into second place in the polls with viral social media videos and an ambitious platform to freeze rents and make buses free. He is hoping to expand his appeal to more moderate voters, but his outspoken socialist views, sharp criticism of Israel and relative inexperience could be an impediment. Brad Lander, the city comptroller, Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker, and Scott Stringer, the former comptroller, are all more conventional liberals who argue they have the potential to put together a broader coalition. Despite much more experience in city government, they have struggled to generate the kind of enthusiasm Mr. Mamdani has, and have hesitated to attack him. The debate may offer an indication of whether this group's loose alliance against Mr. Cuomo will hold in the final weeks. A few lesser-known candidates — State Senators Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos, former Assemblyman Michael Blake and the financier Whitney Tilson — are still introducing themselves to voters and would need a breakout moment to shake up the race. Mayor Eric Adams is running for a second term, but as an independent, so he will not be on the debate stage.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Andrew Cuomo locks in another House endorsement in NYC mayoral race
US Rep. Adriano Espaillat is backing Andrew Cuomo for New York City mayor — strengthening the embattled former governor's support among Latino communities in Washington Heights and the Bronx. The Democratic congressman made his spirited endorsement during a Mother's Day event in the Bronx Saturday night, encouraging female attendees to vote for the pol – who resigned in disgrace from the governor's office in 2021 over sexual misconduct claims leveled against him by a slew of women. 'He has the best intentions in his heart,' Espaillat, who reps Upper Manhattan and parts of the West Bronx, insisted during his lively bilingual declaration, according to a video shared on X. 'He needs you, he needs the mothers and the daughters and the granddaughters of the city so he can make it better.' In a subsequent statement – which also included an endorsement from Espaillat's Coalition for Community Concerns – the congressman described Cuomo as a strong and proven leader capable of tackling the Big Apple's most urgent issues, including affordability, public safety and federal overreach. Cuomo has now won the support of three House members — including Ritchie Torres and Greg Meeks. The Democratic candidate also earned an endorsement from Assemblyman George Alvarez, who hosted Saturday's function. Alvarez is a member of the coalition, which was formed ahead of the city's mayoral race and includes civic and business leaders, local activists and elected officials. 'His record proves that he is the best suited to tackle challenges facing our city,' said Alvarez, who serves New York's 78th District in the Bronx. 'From building more affordable housing to making like safer in the streets, the Bronx needs someone who can step up to the plate on Day One and start doing the job. We did it before, we can do it again, and we will when he is at City Hall.' Cuomo, during the vivacious gathering, said he looks forward to working with both pols when he's elected. 'No one will do more for the Bronx than we will together,' Cuomo told the crowd, the video showed. 'The Bronx has been left behind for too long and we're going to make it a priority. We're going to make it safer, more affordable, and more job opportunities than you have seen in years.'
