Bill Clinton Endorses Andrew Cuomo for New York City Mayor

[muriel_volestrangler]

48. "Andrew Cuomo isn't an asshole who gets things done, he's just an asshole"

The phrasing comes from Lawyers, Guns & Money, but the reasoning from Sam Deutsch's An Urbanist NYC Voter Guide, who suggests a rank of 1. Zellnor Myrie 2. Brad Lander 3. Zohran Mamdani 4. Adrienne Adams - but not Cuomo under any circumstances:

Last but not least, you should rank Zohran because he’s not Andrew Cuomo. While Andrew Cuomo’s campaign is centered around this image of stability and competence that he is trying to build, that reputation is simply not aligned with reality. I know people who worked in Albany during Cuomo’s tenure who say he is the worst manager they have ever dealt with, as he had zero understanding of policy and simply sought the limelight at all times. Moreover, I have friends in City Hall who are expecting a mass exodus of talented bureaucrats if Cuomo wins, precisely due to his “intolerable” management style, as former MTA subway chief Andy Byford described it. Here are all of the specific reasons I am not ranking Andrew Cuomo:
...
Cuomo completely mismanaged the pandemic response, most notably the nursing home scandal where he ordered nursing homes readmit covid-positive patients, and then covered up the deaths stemming from this decision. Additionally, as part of Cuomo’s rivalry with then-Mayor Bill DeBlasio, Cuomo delayed vaccine distribution at Citi Field. To top it all off, Cuomo forced state employees to help write his book instead of doing their jobs during the pandemic.

According to the state Comptroller, Andrew Cuomo’s legal fees for the above scandals have totaled around $60 million, and taxpayers are on the hook for it. This includes $18 million for private lawyers to defend Cuomo from the sexual harassment claims against him. Those lawyers even sued to get access to the gynecological records of one of Cuomo’s accusers.

Cuomo created the Moreland Commission to investigate state corruption. When the commission started looking into Cuomo’s own questionable activities, Cuomo abruptly disbanded the commission and halted their work.

Cuomo partnered with RFK Jr. to shut down the Indian Point Nuclear Plant, which was producing 25% of downstate electricity with zero carbon emissions. This resulted in the New York City grid’s carbon intensity increasing by over 50% as the nuclear power was replaced by fossil fuels, primarily natural gas. This caused electricity prices to spike in 2022, resulting in $300 million in additional electricity costs on New Yorkers’ utility bills.

(I left out the well documented "sex pest" reason. And many, many more - follow the link - including that one of Cuomo's backers is Bill Ackman, one of Trump's richest supporters. Which makes the claim that "Cuomo will stand up to Trump" look like bullshit.