A sudden speech, a leader derailed
Gov. Andrew Cuomo prepares to board a helicopter after announcing Tuesday that he will resign. Credit: AP/Seth Wenig
Andrew M. Cuomo took a full 12 minutes into a 21-minute address to deliver the explosive news that he was quitting as governor. First, he set up the moment by saying again he accepted responsibility for offending female employees without admitting to anything illegal or immoral.
Cuomo's speech suited well enough the basic goal of moving himself, his former allies, and the public past a painful moment.
Along the way, the governor was forced to implicitly admit that the public confidence he needed to govern had vanished. Whether he saw checkmate coming in one move or several, he chose to pack it in.
And so Cuomo’s third term, the unplanned final chapter for so many New York politicians, ends early and jarringly, unlike that of his late father Mario, who exited by losing his 1994 race for a record fourth term.
As TV drama goes, the Emmy-award-sharing governor set up a bit of a roller coaster with his late-morning announcement.
First, Cuomo thanked his lawyer Rita Glavin for disputing individual sex-harassment accusations described in the report he requested from Attorney General Tish James. As he began to attack the report anew, you might well have believed he would push on.
Not so.
He still had reason to deny charges and defend actions because a cluster of civil suits and other probes lie ahead. While sticking to his story that lines of personal propriety have shifted and that his touching, banter and humor were misunderstood, he said there is a wider discussion to be had about personal boundaries and gender.
" … The political environment is too hot and it is too reactionary for that now. And it is unfortunate," he said. Blaming this greater ecology served as a bridge to his next point: "I am a fighter and my instinct is to fight through this controversy," which he then called "unfair" and "untruthful" and "politically motivated."
But realistically, he argued, he would not be heard over the noise.
Boom. Suddenly, here he was, defiance gone, making the same case as those who had been urging his resignation since the James report accelerated an impeachment process in the state Assembly. Cuomo said that to wage his battle to stay would involve "weeks of process" and "months of litigation," public expense, stalled governance, and the famous "d" word, distraction.
So he gave what added up to an emotional two weeks' notice. With voice cracking, he told his employers, the citizens of the state, "I love New York, and I love you." Upping the heartfelt, he said, "I work for you, and doing the right thing is doing the right thing for you."
That said, he referred to Kathy Hochul, who succeeds him, as "my lieutenant governor."
Just a habit, maybe.
He gave a florid summary of his accomplishments in office. That's an ingrained habit, too. He declared solidarity and love for his daughters and the cause of equality for women, then gave a greatest-hits version of campaign themes.
What Cuomo didn't say was what Assembly leaders noted a day earlier — that the issues of his $5 million book deal, flawed pandemic nursing home reporting and other conduct have yet to be accounted for.
He must have taken that into account in deciding to depart.
No resignation speech would explain just what behavior derailed his career — or whether he was in the end too arrogant or aggressive or manipulative or ambitious to maintain his base of support.
Those traits, viewed differently, seemed to drive his often-successful work product during a decade in office.
Longevity in office has one price or another for the occupant. The official's sense of identity welds to the job, until one day it is time to go, voluntarily or not.
Columnist Dan Janison's opinions are his own.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
