Jewish reactions to Cuomo’s resignation

CUOMO RESIGNS

Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned Tuesday, a week after a state investigation concluded that he sexually harassed 11 women.

• The Jewish Week profiles his successor, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who will become New York’s first woman governor when Cuomo’s resignation takes effect in two weeks. Local leaders said she has been attentive on antisemitism and other Jewish communal affairs.
• “Although she was lieutenant governor, she wasn’t an insider and cannot be held accountable for the governor’s tsuris,” said political consultant Ezra Friedlander.
• Despite his strong-arm tactics, Cuomo enjoyed a warm working relationship with Jews across the denominational spectrum.
• Flashback: Read how a sex scandal involving a previous New York governor, Eliot Spitzer, paved the way for David Paterson to become the state’s first African American chief executive.
   

Reactions:

• U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan) called it a “meaningful step forward for New York. There can be no tolerance for a culture of sexual harassment in the highest levels of our government. I thank the women who had the courage to tell the truth.”
• U.S. Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Long Island), who hoped to face a humbled Cuomo in the 2022 governor’s race, said “we must rid New York of the Cuomo-Hochul administration and its disgraceful legacy.”
• New York State Assembly Member Amy Paulin (D-Scarsdale) said Cuomo’s decision to resign is “a necessary step that will allow the State government to function effectively, and it sets the precedent that sexual harassment will not be tolerated at any level.”
• State Senator Anna M. Kaplan (D-North Hills) said Hochul “has often been called an Honorary Long Islander because she spends so much time here fighting for issues that matter to us.”
• The liberal New York Jewish Agenda tweeted that it called on Cuomo to resign last March, “stating that his continuing in office despite the serious and credible allegations lodged against him by credible women was an affront to our values.”
• UJA-Federation of New York wished Hochul “enormous success as she steps up to lead New York State. We stand ready to work with her to address the needs of all New Yorkers during this critical time.”