“Be careful around the Governor.”
This is what a friend of Lindsey Boylan told her when she was promoted to Chief of Staff at the New York State Economic Development Agency. Sure enough, her experience working with Governor Andrew Cuomo was peppered with inappropriate touches, comments, and gestures directed at both her and other women in his administration. Boylan said that shortly after she began working with Cuomo, “My boss … informed me that the Governor had a “crush” on me.” She has stated that she feared being alone with Cuomo, and her worst trepidations were confirmed when he kissed her on the lips without consent in his NYC office on Third avenue. After that instance of sexual harassment, she felt terrified and nauseous coming in to work everyday. She eventually resigned in 2018.
Six women have accused Cuomo of sexual harassment at the time of this writing.
Boylan was the first to come forward, which likely helped other women feel more comfortable sharing their experiences and publicly condemning the Governor for his sleazy behavior.
Ana Liss, a former aide to the Governor, stated that Cuomo called her “sweetheart,” touched her lower back, and kissed her on the hand. Karen Hinton, another former aide, revealed that he held her in a “very long, too long, too tight, too intimate” embrace in a sketchy hotel room. Hinton is adamant that, “It was inappropriate. We both were married. I worked for him and it was too much to make it so personal and intimate.” Although survivors of sexual harassment and assault should not need corroboration to be believed, Hinton even has two witnesses in whom she confided shortly after the incident. She also mentioned that Cuomo made hiring decisions based on how women looked—he told her he had declined to employ a woman because she “wasn’t attractive enough for the job.”
In a futile attack on her credibility, a spokesman for Cuomo stated of Hinton’s allegations, “This did not happen. Karen Hinton is a known antagonist of the Governor’s who is attempting to take advantage of this moment to score cheap points with made-up allegations from 21 years ago.” This is a textbook example of gaslighting—a form of abuse in which people are made to question their sanity or recollections by the abuser. Contrary to this dismissive and invalidating statement, Hinton has little incentive to lie: her husband is lobbyist Howard Glaser, a longtime ally of Cuomo who has worked closely with him as his director of state operations and senior policy advisor. Her testimony, combined with those of the five other known women who report similar experiences, is enough to place the Governor under serious scrutiny.
Cuomo’s inappropriate transgressions were not isolated incidents, but part of a larger pattern of behavior. According to Boylan, “Governor Andrew Cuomo has created a culture within his administration where sexual harassment and bullying is so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected.” This pattern is appallingly common among wealthy and influential men in America—Harvey Weinstein, R. Kelly, and Bill Cosby being prominent examples. Even politicians like President Joe Biden, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump, and Rep. Patrick Meehan have been suppressing sexual harassment and assault allegations for years. Boylan said that Cuomo’s treatment of her resulted in “an uncomfortable but all-too-familiar feeling: the struggle to be taken seriously by a powerful man who tied my worth to my body and my appearance.” Sometimes, powerful men own up to their crimes and resign. More often, they ride out the criticism, laying low until people latch onto the next scandal in a month or two and forget all about them. This appears to be the route Governor Cuomo is taking. An independent investigation by NYS Attorney General Letitia James is under way. If the allegations are verified, Cuomo must resign—for the well-being of the women he violated and of the people of New York State.
Workplace sexual harassment and bullying, while normalized even at the highest levels of government, are extremely detrimental. They result in toxic work environments and make jobs untenable for women due to stress and discomfort. Many, like Boylan, quit their jobs, only to see their abusers continue to receive publicity and praise without a shred of recompense or accountability. The pain of the initial harassment compounds even after they escape the situation. Furthermore, Liss believes that the New York State government is currently not a safe place for young women to work, because of the constant objectification and degradation they face. Besides the obvious threat to mental health that comes with inappropriate and dehumanizing treatment, these patterns of abuse are shutting women out of politics. And without accountability for the abusers, the responsibility falls on women to keep themselves safe. It’s always “Be careful around the Governor,” and never “Let’s get rid of the Governor.” Systemic issues require systemic solutions, and sexism will obviously not be solved with the resignation of one offender. But it would be harmful to allow Cuomo to continue governing an entire state and making over 200,000 dollars a year doing so, when it is so clear that he lacks basic respect for women.
Three years ago, Cuomo called for NY Attorney General Eric Schneiderman to resign over assault allegations. However, he has been extremely self-defensive up to this point, denying any wrongdoing. “I’m not going to resign because of allegations,” he stated. He and his staff are attempting to excuse his actions by discrediting his accusers and suggesting that his nonconsensual kisses, uncomfortable embraces, and lewd comments are normal behavior.
Cuomo said of alleged verbal harassment, “That’s my way of doing friendly banter,” and a senior advisor characterized him as someone who hugs and kisses people all the time, and insisted that his behavior was typical of politicians. It is. And that’s a problem, not an excuse.
If Cuomo is allowed to retain his job despite the harm he has done, the public will see a continuation of this awful trend: wealthy, powerful men committing dastardly crimes with impunity. It signals to future generations that you can successfully evade the consequences of sexual harassment. It reflects negatively on the whole of New York State that our governor does not respect women’s bodily autonomy or treat them as equal human beings. He must be held accountable for the hurt he’s caused, and if he has any scrap of human decency or remorse, he will not only profusely apologize, but step down as Governor. In the words of State Senate majority leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins: “We have allegations about sexual harassment, a toxic work environment, the loss of credibility surrounding the COVID-19 nursing home data and questions about the construction of a major infrastructure project… For the good of the state, Governor Cuomo must resign.”