Despite a consistent relationship with him, the Working Families Party (WFP) has called on New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign amid multiple allegations of sexual assault or harassment.
Over the last decade, New Yorkers have found themselves curious every four years as they waited to see if Cuomo would run on the ballot line of the progressive Working Families Party.
“We are calling on the Governor to resign immediately because he is unfit to serve the people of New York,” the organization stated in a tweet.
New York Working Families Party’s state director Sochie Nnaemeka released a statement on the matter, saying “Cuomo’s reign of fear, harassment, and intimidation cannot continue.”
“We were horrified to learn of the Governor’s pattern of sexual harassment,” Nnaemeka continued. “We have been equally disturbed by the Governor’s response: he did not deny any of Charlotte Bennett’s specific allegations, failed to take any personal responsibility for his actions, and instead blamed his victims.”
Nnaemeka’s statement also discussed Cuomo’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic as it relates to nursing home deaths, saying Cuomo “has shown himself to be far more concerned with misleading the public and mistreating others than caring for New Yorkers in need.”
“During a historic public health crisis, the Governor sexually harassed women, put vulnerable seniors in harms’ way, and threatened those who spoke out against him,” Nnaemeka added. “We are calling on Governor Cuomo to resign immediately because he is unfit to serve the people of New York.”
“As we face an ongoing public health and economic crisis, New Yorkers also need their state legislature to lead now more than ever. The WFP urges our state legislators to pass a budget that reverses this Governor’s decade of cuts to working people and tax breaks for the wealthy, raises significant revenue, and supports excluded workers and vulnerable New Yorkers,” Nnaemeka concluded.
Regarding the Working Families Party’s relationship with Cuomo, Spectrum Local News noted:
The WFP has served as a ballot line and organization meant to pull Democrats to the political left. In 2010, then-Attorney General Cuomo nearly declined their ballot line amid an investigation his office was conducting into the party’s since-shuttered for-profit arm, Data & Field Services.
In 2014, the party considered endorsing Fordham Law School professor Zephyr Teachout during a heated convention in Albany. Last-minute interventions from Mayor Bill de Blasio and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman led the WFP to back Cuomo for a second term.
In 2018, the WFP endorsed Cuomo’s primary challenger, actress Cynthia Nixon. After he defeated Nixon in a primary, he ran on the WFP line.
On Monday, Democrat Rep. Kathleen Rice (NY) called for Cuomo’s resignation, making her the first Democrat member of U.S. Congress to do so.
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