The former New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, announced on Saturday to be postulated to be the next mayor of New York City.
Cuomo had been causing a campaign launch for weeks and is now returning to politics only four years after he resigned from the Government after multiple accusations of sexual harassment.
“We know that the first step to solve a problem is to have the strength, to have the courage to recognize it, and we know that today, our city of New York is in trouble,” Cuomo said in a campaign release video of almost 18 minutes published in X.
“But New Yorkers know the simple answer of what to do when there is a crisis in leadership. You lead, you act, you do, ”added the former governor.
He also crossed a list of achievements of his time as governor, and told the spectators: “We did not do these things because they were easy. They were not. They were difficult, but they were necessary, and today it is necessary to launch a bold action plan to change the city of New York, to save our city. “
The launch of the Cuomo campaign occurs when Mayor Eric Adams, also a Democrat, was involved in scandal for months after a federal accusation for charges of corruption.
The case against Adams is stuck as the Department of Justice, led by the appointed politicians of President Donald Trump, seeks to dismiss the charges.
A handful of other Democratic candidates, including the city’s comptroller, Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, the state assembly Zohran Mamdani and the Sens. Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie, are also being advanced to the primary of June 24, challenging the path of Adams to a second mandate.
In a statement minutes after Cuomo launched his campaign, Stringer criticized the former governor, saying that Cuomo “spent years treating New York City as his personal boxing bag, cutting the MTA funds and destroying the subway while channeling money to the ski statutes in the state and tried to reduce one billion in funds for the children of public schools and the residents of the city. New Yorkers rehabilitate your reputation?
Before giving up in 2021, the former governor enjoyed high approval ratings, especially in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, since he gave almost daily reports to New York and often appeared in CNN, while his brother, Chris Cuomo, was an anchor there.
But as the accusations of sexual harassment appeared, even for nine state employees, Cuomo faced bipartisan calls to resign.
A 2021 report written by state attorney general Letitia James claimed that Cuomo had harassed 11 women and subject some of them to touches and touches without invitation.
In his resignation speech, Cuomo told the New Yorkers: “In my mind, I have never crossed the line with anyone, but I did not realize the extent to which the line has been written. There are generational and cultural changes that I simply did not appreciate completely. ”
He also said at that time that he resigned not because of the accusations, but because “wasting energy in distraction is the last thing the government should be.”
In his campaign launch video on Saturday, Cuomo seemed to settle the past accusations against him, saying: “Did I always do everything right in my years of government service? Of course not. Would you do some things differently, knowing what I know now? Certainly. Did I make mistakes? Some painfully, definitely, and I think I learned from them, and that I am a better person for it, and I hope to show you that every day. “
Before launching his campaign on Saturday, Cuomo had already earned the support of representative Ritchie Torres, Dn.y., who told the New York Post on Monday that “Andrew Cuomo has the competition to govern the city. He has the courage to face extremist politics, both from the left and from the end. “
“America loves a return, New York loves a return,” Torres added.
