New York State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins has called for Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to resign amid multiple sexual harassment allegations recently waged against him.
“Everyday there is another account that is drawing away from the business of government,” Stewart-Cousins said in a statement released Sunday. “We have allegations about sexual harassment, a toxic work environment, the loss of credibility surrounding the Covid-19 nursing home data and questions about the construction of a major infrastructure project.”
“New York is still in the midst of this pandemic and is still facing the societal, health and economic impacts of it,” she added. “We need to govern without daily distraction. For the good of the state Gov. Cuomo must resign.”
Stewart-Cousins’ statement came just hours after Cuomo said he is “not going to resign because of allegations.”
Cuomo has pleaded with “New Yorkers to await the findings of the review so that they know the facts before making any judgements,” however he has not always been one to believe in due process.
In 2018, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman faced allegations of physical abuse from four different women. Schneiderman, much like Cuomo, attempted to defend himself.
“In the privacy of intimate relationships, I have engaged in role-playing and other consensual sexual activity,” Schneiderman told the New Yorker. “I have not assaulted anyone. I have never engaged in nonconsensual sex, which is a line I would not cross.”
Upon learning of the allegations, prior to a conducted investigation, Cuomo immediately called for Schneiderman’s resignation, saying, “no one is above the law.”
Last week, when there was a total of three women who had come forward with accusations against Cuomo, Stewart-Cousins said Cuomo should resign if any more women come forward.
“Any further people coming forward, I think it would be time to resign,” Stewart-Cousins said at the time. A total of five women have now come forward with accusations against Cuomo, four who previously worked for him.
While numerous Republicans have called for Cuomo to resign, members of the Democrat Party seem hesitant to do the same.
“The time has come. The governor must resign,” said Rep. Kathleen Rice (D-NY) in a tweet, making her the first Democrat member of Congress to call for his ouster.
“I’ve seen more than enough as well,” Democrat state Sen. Gustavo Rivera said of the accusations.
Two female aides have also departed Cuomo’s administration amid the allegations of sexual harassment and his team’s coverup of nursing home deaths related to COVID-19.
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