The former New York governor spoke at a black church on Sunday, days after a political ad was released. What could be next in Mr. Cuomo’s return to public life?
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Seven months after former Governor Andrew M. Cuomo stepped down in disgrace amid allegations of sexual harassment and the threat of impeachment, he is now taking aggressive steps to plot a path back to public life.
He is still out of a job and still politically isolated after one of the most stunning collapses in modern American political history.
But in recent weeks, his campaign account has funded ads that make him the victim of politically motivated “attacks.” He rebelled against “cancel culture” during a Sunday performance at a black church in Brooklyn. And he’s made headlines for dining with prominent figures, including former Governor Chris Christie, New Jersey Republican, and New York City Mayor Eric Adams.
“Maybe someone testing the waters,” noted former New York Democrat David A. Paterson.
The question that animates New York’s political circles: Are the waters testing for what?
While he has some loyal supporters, many former close allies have said they see no room for Mr Cuomo in public life. He chose to resign last summer amid whirlwind investigations and the prospect of an impeachment trial after allies in state and national democratic circles, including President Biden, deserted him. His legal problems have not been completely resolved, and a recent Siena College Research Institute poll found that 80 percent of New York voters said resigning was the right move.
“There is absolutely no future for Andrew Cuomo in public life in New York State or anywhere else,” said Christine Quinn, a former New York City Council chair and once a close ally of Cuomo. But, she said, “the mind of an assailant and an attacker is the mind of a narcissist. So he probably thinks he can run for president of the United States.”
Mr Cuomo has denied touching anyone inappropriately or making sexual advances and has been buoyed by the fact that several prosecutors have not filed charges against him after investigating some of the claims of wrongdoing† But while the prosecutors concluded that there were insufficient legal grounds to bring criminal charges, some of them also emphasized that they found the allegations credible.
As he continues his march into the public eye, here are five possible scenarios for Mr. Cuomo and their key associated challenges, based on interviews with New York Democratic strategists, officials and Cuomo associates.
When he stepped down from office, Mr. Cuomo used his parting words to reinvigorate his legacy and remind voters of what they loved about him and his famous family.
Since then, he has kept in touch with a group of associates and friends, making it clear that he believes he has been wronged and that he wants to find a way back to public relevance and acceptance.
“I don’t think he felt like running for public office,” said Hazel N. Dukes, the chairman of the NAACP New York State Conference, who said she had dated him “a few months” ago. spoken. “I think he felt like he wanted to clear his name.”
He publicly orchestrates some of that ambition, both with the ads and with the speech, which obscured the political and substantive reality surrounding Cuomo’s own decision to step down.
Some of that effort also takes place privately. An example of how he is trying to confirm his position as a political player is that he has contacted Mr. Adams on polls about the Democratic Party’s fortunes, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
“Our administration is listening to many former government officials and outside stakeholders when it comes to governance,” said Maxwell Young, a spokesperson for Mr. Adams. “The mayor stands by his previous comments that the former governor should have resigned, as he did.”
Mr Cuomo said on Sunday he was open to all options, but this year’s candidate for office seemed unlikely.
The Democratic Party has endorsed are nominees for the statewide office. Many of the institutional players who once led Mr. Cuomo has embraced both Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, whose office oversaw an investigation into charges against Mr. Cuomo.
The petition to vote is already underway, and Mr Cuomo’s spokesman Richard Azzopardi has said the former governor has no plans to run against Ms James as attorney general this year.
But in theory, Mr. Cuomo has a few more weeks to change his mind or move to another office, aided by a war chest of about $16 million.
Former Governor Eliot Spitzer, who also stepped down in disgrace, ran late in running for New York City comptroller in 2013. But about five years had passed between Mr Spitzer’s resignation and his bid to become a much less well-known office.
When asked widely about those who say there is no turning back to public life, Mr. Azzopardi criticized “transactional insiders” and the “political elite”, descriptions that would apply to Mr Cuomo, the son of a three-year-old governor not long ago, saying that “their arrogance clouds the fact that New Yorkers make these choices — not them.”
Mr. Cuomo’s recent moves reflect the actions of a potential candidate, even if he is not a contender this year.
In theory, he could take the first steps towards a Senate round in 2024, potentially challenging Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. He could be planting the seeds for a governor’s race in 2026. Or he could just try to expand his future political options, which are severely limited.
“He doesn’t give up easily,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic strategist who has worked for Mr. Cuomo but was also a top advisor to H. Carl McCall, who defeated Mr. Cuomo to win the Democratic nomination in the race of the governor of 2002 . mr. Cuomo has been planning a comeback for years and now sees that effort as a playbook.
“He’s completely fixated on how he’s going to get back into the public eye or at least force people to pay attention to him the way he wants them to pay attention to him,” Mr Sheinkopf said.
Cuomo became a political pariah before resigning from ActBlue, an organization that processes online campaign donations for Democrats, and removing him from the platform in August.
He might try to clean up his image before looking for a new job in the private sector, though his speech at Brooklyn’s God’s Battalion of Prayer Church was much more aggressive than conciliatory.
An expert role seems unlikely: Mr Cuomo on Sunday accused the press of creating an atmosphere that fueled calls for his firing, and accused DailyExpertNews of firing his brother, Chris Cuomo, because the company was “in the midst of a merger and scared belonged to the cancel culture mob.” (Chris Cuomo came under fire for privately advising his older brother on how to respond to the sexual harassment allegations.)
And at a time when many large corporations want to be increasingly sensitive to social justice issues, hiring Mr. Cuomo could cause a significant backlash.
“People trying to get into the private sector or trying to clear up for the private sector usually don’t run state-wide political ads,” said Chris Coffey, a chief executive of Tusk Strategies and veteran of Democratic politics. “Statewide political ads followed by a big speech in Brooklyn is usually something a candidate does.”
Mr. Cuomo has spent most of his adult life in politics and his interest has not waned; he has discussed the political landscape privately with associates since leaving office. He devoted part of his speech on Sunday to discussing the medium-term dangers to Democrats, while promoting some of his own liberal achievements.
The former governor, once hailed as a possible presidential candidate, may now be simply trying to re-establish himself as a relevant figure in Democratic politics — a prospect that has many Democratic officials in New York on edge.
“What he does is keep everyone dancing,” Mr. Sheinkopf said. “They don’t know where this is going.”
The Bronx may be a place where Mr. Cuomo is going soon. Rev. Rubén Díaz Sr., whose conservative views on important issues have made him a controversial figure in New York politics, wrote on Twitter on Monday that he would like to welcome Mr. Cuomo to his congregation.
“We’ve done a lot of good work together for the Bronx, but a lot more needs to be done,” he said. Mr. Cuomo replied. “I’d like to.”
Luis Ferré-Sadurní reported.