NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – A speculation swirls that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo is considering a run for New York City mayor, his brother Chris Cuomo said this week he’ll back whatever he does but “I don’t know why he seems so motivated to serve.”
During his eponymous show on NewsNation on Monday, a caller from Lynbrook asked Cuomo he thinks his brother would run for mayor given the “debacle” with Mayor Eric Adams, who pleaded not guilty recently to federal charges of bribery, wire fraud and other crimes.
Cuomo said he’s “the little brother, not the big brother,” and that it’ll ultimately be the former governor’s decision to make but he does wonder where he gets the drive to serve in public office.
“I love my brother very much and I never had to look outside my own family for role models,” Cuomo said. “I feel like he’s done so much, and there’s such a high price for getting into that game now—especially in his party—that I don’t know why he seems so motivated to serve.”
“And I know he’s hearing people telling him to run,” Cuomo continued. “But man, there’s a lot of ‘ifs’ in this. Is Adams in or is Adams out? Is it a special election or is it a primary? How radicalized left is the party structure in that special election or primary? Who else runs? I mean, there are a lot of ifs. I think for a lot of people it seems simple. Andrew Cuomo should get in. Andrew Cuomo shouldn’t get in. I think there are a lot of pieces, but the most important piece is my brother’s conviction. And all I know is he does not share my disrespect for the process.”
“My brother—just like my father—he believes that public service is the best, if not the only way, to dedicate your life,” Cuomo added. “He just believes it. So I know he wants to serve. I don’t know how. I don’t know what. But I know he’s hearing what people are saying. We’ve got a long way to go. We’ll see what happens.”
Cuomo was elected to three terms as governor from 2011 to 2021, ultimately resigning during his third term amid sexual misconduct allegations. He has denied touching anyone inappropriately and apologized for acting “in a way that made people feel uncomfortable.”
While Cuomo has largely stayed out of the spotlight since then, Adams’ legal troubles have renewed speculation Cuomo will join a Democratic primary field that so far includes candidates primarily seen as to the left of him politically, including City Comptroller Brad Lander and state Sen. Jessica Ramos. Adams has also said he has no intensions of stepping down.
An op-ed published in the New York Times on Tuesday concludes “There is a plausible scenario in which Andrew Cuomo runs and wins election as New York’s next mayor.”
The opinion piece notes Cuomo’s complicated governorship—his administration was “legendary” for its “intimidation tactics,” not to mention the controversy over his handling of COVID-19 deaths and nursing homes. But his decade in office also yielded an “extensive track record of accomplishment,” from the redevelopment of La Guardia Airport to a landmark gay marriage law and a $15 minimum wage, the op-ed says.
According to the op-ed, Cuomo’s “record of success and aura of competence” could prove advantageous in a city where polling shows there’s a “broad consensus” among the electorate that “crime persists as a major problem, inflows of migrants are cause for concern, the mayor’s job performance is unsatisfactory, and the city is headed in the wrong direction.”
A recent Marist Poll, conducted after Adams’ indictment, found 55% of NYC residents don’t want Cuomo to run, while 44% think he should make a bid for the office. Democrats are divided on the issue: 52% think he shouldn’t run, while 48% think he should. The same poll found 81% of New Yorkers think Adams shouldn’t run for mayor again.