New York State Assemblyman John McDonald says Governor Andrew Cuomo must resign after the release of the state attorney general’s report Tuesday showing the governor broke the law by sexually harassing 11 women. McDonald, a Democrat from the 108th district, says it appears Cuomo will try to hang on — but after taking part in a three-hour conference Tuesday with Democrats in the chamber, McDonald says the Assembly’s impeachment probe is accelerating.
The report was unsettling. And that's probably a kind word, very upsetting in regards to what is repeated behavior, not only regards to sexual harassment in the workplace, but retaliatory action against individuals who, who have the confidence to speak up. And really just a very toxic work environment. Listen, we know the governor's hard charging and a hard working individual. But it's apparent when reading this report that he and those surround them crossed the line many times. And it's some it's one thing if one or two people make an allegation. And of course, as you know, even one allegation needs to be examined closely. We had 11 different individuals. Some have varying degrees, but all very, very tragic situations, very uncomfortable situations. And you know, you can't put one above the other. But I have to be honest with you, what was extraordinarily upsetting to me is the situation that came out of left field, which was regards to state trooper that speaks volumes of many different issues. To me, it appeared that somebody in a higher level state police was actually allowing this behavior to fester. And I think that's another issue also itself.
Assemblyman, if I may, I just want to explain for people who might not have read all the materials yet that the governor interacted with a female New York State Trooper during an event in New York City. And it appears that the state trooper was later assigned to the governor's personal detail where he's alleged to have sexually harassed her many times, despite not having necessary qualifications for that role.
Absolutely correct. And what's bothersome to me and we all know anybody who's been in government for 15 minutes knows there's a process for appointments, there's certain minimum qualifications. And according to this report, this individual was basically hand-picked and jumped over many other individuals to be on what's called the PSU, which is the unit that protects the government governor at times and therefore, basically, you know, she was chosen to be near him on a regular basis.
I think the other thing that's upsetting is the governor, I have to question the governor's response after the Attorney General's report, obviously, it was something that was not put together, you know, within an hour of the report, it was probably done several days ago, prior to this coming out. So they knew number one, what was coming. But I just thought that his report his message was horrific. I respect that everyone has the right to defend themselves. However, basically, I came away from that message saying, I will take these women, right through the wringer. And basically, at the end of the day, I did a good job with COVID, don't hold this against me. And I you can't connect these at all by any stretch of the imagination. And as you know, there's still investigations going on exactly what did happen and did not happen with COVID. So it was a very dark day. And it's upsetting. It's a shame.
You know, the governor, to his credit, has done some good things throughout his tenure as governor. However, those items are in the distance now, because of what has transpired not just over the last couple of days, but over the past several years in regards to the workplace.
What can you tell us about the conference among Democratic members of your chamber the assembly yesterday after the report, and where we go from here? Your speaker Carl Heastie released a statement saying effectively the impeachment would be now fast tracked.
Yeah. And as you know, I was one of the first members to send out a statement yesterday asked for the governor to step down. And I can tell you after being on a conference for three hours that I was not alone in that thanking me. I think it's the majority of the members feel that way to a certain degree. I think most of our conversation was focusing on when, not if, the Articles of Impeachment would be put together and delivered to the Senate. So I expected to be you know, in relatively short order, probably not short enough for the average person, I think the average person, and I've heard very loud and clear from my constituents. And these are people who are strong Andrew Cuomo supporters that he's got to go. And it can't happen quick enough. But the reality is like anything else, you know, this is the conversation between Is this a political issue or a legal issue? Most people who want him to go, it's because of the political issue. And I get that, and I understand that. But at the end of the day, this is a legal matter. And we need to make sure that we dot the i's cross the t's, be prepared, because we will present this case to the Senate and the High Court and the Court of Appeals. And if you're going to go down this road, you better go for the victory. There's no way you can just turn around halfway.
Is it your understanding that the governor will not resign? I mean, you've called for his resignation. But so has the President of the United States, too, and as we speak, he is he's not resigning.
Yeah, I don't really think he's going to resign. I think he should. You know, leadership is always looked at in a variety different ways on how people get through difficult situations. And sometimes leadership is actually saying, you know, what, maybe I am not the right person at this time. We have very serious issues ongoing. COVID, we have an
eviction moratorium expiring at the end of this month, we have $2.3 billion of rental assistance that hasn't gone out the door yet, hopefully will soon that we need to get to our tenants and help our small landlords. And by the way, schools are opening in about three weeks. And we don't really have a full plan in effect, and it's difficult because the Delta variant is causing challenges, right, left and all over. But the bottom line is, we need to have a strong effective leader. Now, and unfortunately, the governor is maligned, he's got to have a lot weighing heavily on his mind. And quite frankly, he should do the right thing, take a stand and say, You know what? I'm doing this for all New Yorkers.
Do you think that lieutenant governor Kathy Hochul is ready to be governor today?
I am. I am very confident. And Kathy Hochul, I think people kind of look at the Lieutenant Governor position historically as being like the Chamber of Commerce of the executive. And the reality is Kathy Hochul is a well tenured, seasoned elected official who has worked at all levels of government at the state at the county. And of course, at the local level, where she started. She's a business person, she gets it. She's smart. I've been in her company, hundreds of times during her tenure as Lieutenant Governor. And I'm always amazed that she's prepared, how she is very direct on what she's focused on. And she understands what this administration has been trying to do. And more importantly, she understands the needs of all New Yorkers. So I am very confident that Kathy Hochul will, we'll be able to step into this role and do a remarkable job. And in I've been around long enough to know when we've seen these situations happen, which unfortunately have happened in the past. And I remember ex-governor Spitzer being a good example.
Once Kathy Hochul is in that position, New Yorkers will rally behind her and support her, oddly enough is something as this, which is kind of dividing some New Yorkers is actually uniting a lot of them. And I think that's what you know, we have to look at the other side, you know, we've got to function on the day to day lives of average New Yorkers. Right now we're once consumed once again, to be impeached. And I get that and I understand that, you know, the speaker made a very clear, we're moving and we're gonna move in a very expedited manner, but also a manner that's going to prove provide the outcome.
It occurs to me to follow up on something you just said. You know, when Governor Spitzer had to resign, it was very sudden and a lot of the people who worked for him stayed in place when Governor Paterson then took over. Based on some of the details in this report, would you have a problem with some of Governor Cuomo’s top people like Melissa De Rosa, maybe Rich Azzopardi, staying in the second floor if Kathy Hochul becomes governor?
So I remember when David Paterson took over as governor, and there were some of the what I call the mechanics, people who know how government operates, and they needed to stay on to make sure that the trains got running on time and I think Kathy Hochul, she's a seasoned veteran, she knows the processes. She knows who the people are. They're going to keep the trains running on time. And I think that she will, she will exercise appropriate discretion on who she decides to keep and who she will dismiss. I think that's something I have full confidence in her. But for me to get into naming who it should be, that's not my role and not my position. Obviously, there's a lot more to know about this impeachment. And yes, it's very clear that there were individuals that were contributing to this process. And that's something that I'm sure Kathy Hochul is aware of, and many others will be new.
