Albany Times Union editorial board calls for Cuomo’s resignation

The Albany Times Union’s editorial board has joined in on calls for New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) to resign amid a series of controversies surrounding the elected official, writing that Cuomo “has squandered the public’s trust at a time when it’s needed more than ever.” 

The editorial board in a Saturday opinion piece specifically cited revelations of Cuomo’s administration intentionally withholding coronavirus death toll numbers in nursing homes, as well as multiple allegations of sexual harassment against the governor. 

“Amid an enduring pandemic, it is vital that people can believe what their governor and their government are telling them, and that the rules they’re asked to follow and the sacrifices they’re asked to make are truly in the interest of public health,” the editorial board wrote. 

“It is time for Mr. Cuomo to resign, and for those who helped him deceive the public to go, too,” it added. 

The board went on to say that while it endorsed Cuomo for governor three times and the elected official has “brought to fruition a host of important progressive goals,” the Democrat has now “lost the credibility he needs to lead this state, especially in the midst of a public health crisis.” 

The board also cited that the “excuse for the lie” of withholding the true coronavirus death toll in nursing homes “was a lie, too.” 

Cuomo’s top aide, Melissa DeRosa, said that the administration did not release complete data on deaths because it was worried about what response it would prompt from former President Trump’s Justice Department. 

However, the board noted that The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal found that DeRosa and other top Cuomo aides pushed state health officials to alter a July public report on nursing home deaths because the death toll “was higher than Mr. Cuomo’s close aides wanted it to be,” the Times Union board wrote. 

“New York cannot get through this public health crisis if New Yorkers don’t know whether the governor and health officials are being honest with them from one day to the next,” the editorial board argued.

“It did not have to be like this,” the board continued. “Mr. Cuomo was, by and large, doing a commendable job leading the state through the pandemic. People knew what a tough situation he faced. If he made a bad call a year ago, New Yorkers would have understood if he’d just been straight with them.”

“But Mr. Cuomo didn’t trust New Yorkers with the truth,” the Times Union board added. 

The opinion piece came ahead of a third former Cuomo aide coming forward with allegations of sexual harassment against him, including touching her lower back at a reception and kissing her hand once as she sat up from her desk.

Despite growing calls for his resignation, Cuomo in a news conference on Wednesday said that he intended to remain in office. 

“Some politicians will always play politics. That’s the nature of the beast. I don’t think today is a day for politics,” Cuomo said at the time. “I wasn’t elected by politicians, I was elected by the people of the state of New York. I’m not going to resign.” 

He went on to say, “I work for the people of the state of New York, they elected me, and I’m going to serve the people of the state of New York.”