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Rep. Tonko Explains Why He Thinks Gov. Cuomo Should Step Down

Congressman Paul Tonko and RISSE Operations Director Francis Sengabo
Lucas Willard
/
WAMC

New York Congressman Paul Tonko of the 20th district is explaining why he joined calls from fellow House Democrats for embattled Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign.

Tonko was among the representatives to release a statement seeking Cuomo’s ouster Friday. Cuomo, facing two investigations into sexual harassment allegations, says he will not resign. Tonko, a former state Assemblyman, spoke on WAMC’s Congressional Corner Monday.

Cuomo denies inappropriately touching anyone. He appeared downstate Monday at a COVID-19 event that was not open to reporters. A Siena College poll released Monday shows a majority of New Yorkers do not want Cuomo to immediately resign. It also found his approval rating down sharply.

Here is what Tonko said about Cuomo:

"A number of accusations have been made, allegations have come forward. And they’re mounting. I do believe an investigation is really called for, and I truly believe that the attorney general will utilize her role and her responsibilities to make sure that it’s a thorough investigation and we have all the facts we need to address the situation.

But with the mounting allegations, it becomes a concern that the focus – the need to be clearly focused on the issues of the day, which are several including the obvious pandemic concerns. With COVID and the vaccination of our state’s people and the like, and the efforts to restore support to our businesses, and reopen our schools safely, all of this needs our undivided attention. And a concern that I have is that it does distract and we need to have someone in charge that is not distracted by all of the accusations and allegations that are currently taking hold.

I take the governor for his word that he is not going to resign. He is going to make certain that all of these investigations are completed, so I need to take him for his word. But I really do believe that the need for us to be focused – I don’t know how long these investigations will take. They could be quite lengthy and get very detailed. But I do think we need the leadership of the state to be totally focused on the missions of today which are several in scope and of great importance."

Tonko was also asked about published reports saying a longtime adviser to Cuomo now leading the state’s COVID-19 vaccine rollout has been calling county executives to gauge their loyalty to the Democratic governor amid a sexual harassment investigation.

The Washington Post and The New York Times report that one Democratic county executive was so disturbed by the call from vaccine “czar” Larry Schwartz that the executive filed notice of an impending ethics complaint with the public integrity unit of the state attorney general’s office. Schwartz told the Post he did not discuss vaccines in the conversations. He said he "did nothing wrong,”

Tonko said, "If there is that kind of pressure, I think that it just adds to the concern of what the public is hearing and some are believing. I think, again, in the midst of all of this scrutiny, there should be every bit of effort made to be tremendously responsible in these situations and not to add to the litany of charges by applying pressure to people in local roles."

A lifelong resident of the Capital Region, Ian joined WAMC in late 2008 and became news director in 2013. He began working on Morning Edition and has produced The Capitol Connection, Congressional Corner, and several other WAMC programs. Ian can also be heard as the host of the WAMC News Podcast and on The Roundtable and various newscasts. Ian holds a BA in English and journalism and an MA in English, both from the University at Albany, where he has taught journalism since 2013.
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