NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Former Gov. George Pataki on Tuesday weighed in on Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation saying it was “inevitable.”
The former governor, who served from 1995 until 2006, spoke with WCBS 880’s Peter Haskell just hours after Cuomo announced he would be resigning from office in two weeks amid an ongoing sexual harassment scandal.
“It's a sad day for New York. But it was an inevitable day after the Attorney General found all 11 accusers to be credible, and she found really credible evidence of a toxic work environment and not even considering the nursing home deaths and some of the other scandals. It was inevitable that the governor had to either resign or be impeached,” Pataki said.
The former governor, however, is seeing Gov. Cuomo’s resignation as a positive step forward for New York State.
“I think now we have the opportunity for a new start for New York. And let's hope it's a good one,” he said.
When asked whether he thinks an impeachment against Cuomo should move forward now that he has resigned, Pataki said he did not believe it was “necessary.” But, he does believes the state Senate should pass a resolution of some sort that can prevent Cuomo, or any other embattled lawmaker, from running for governor.
He also thinks the investigation into Cuomo’s administration needs to continue.
“Over 15,000 people died in the nursing homes scandal. And that has never been fully investigated. Why did the governor require nursing homes to take COVID positive patients while the USS Comfort and the Javits Center sat basically vacant? … This is something we need to get to the bottom of,” said Pataki.
He notes it’s possible more scandals may come to light as the investigation continues and says he is worried about the state of New York’s future given the actions of the Cuomo administration.
“I'm very concerned with where we are as a state right now, we've had a government that was nonfunctional for at least the last month. And now we have at least two weeks of a transition. And it's going to be very difficult for the new governor to put together a team that has the experience to move forward on the ground quickly. And we're in a crisis mode in New York,” Pataki said. “I am concerned that with this transition and the chaos that's been in the governor's office, and obviously will continue for at least a couple of more weeks, that people will get discouraged.”
Though, he is hopeful that Kathy Hochul – who is set to become the state’s first female governor – will handle all the challenges with ease.
His advice to her is to have a “clear vision as to what you want to accomplish.”
“You need to have concrete efforts you are prepared to take today to make the people realize that you're dealing with these various crises.
It can't be abstract. It can't be in the future. It can't be down the road,” Pataki said. “Have an agenda on Day 1 of 5, 6, 7, 8 things that you can accomplish very quickly, that send a clear message that there is a function in governor's office, that it has a vision as to where New York has to go and that you're prepared to enact that vision quickly.”
Listen to the full conversation with former Gov. George Pataki above.