The governor still has a group of supporters at his side: his family.
Former New York First Lady Matilda Cuomo on Monday gathered around her son, Governor Andrew Cuomo, who is increasingly facing resignations.
“I’ve always had the greatest admiration for Andrew, and I still do,” Matilda, 89, told Times Union in a phone call from his Manhattan apartment. “He’s my son and I don’t like what he’s going through.”
The 63-year-old governor is involved in a scandal involving allegations of inappropriate behavior towards younger women, as well as the controversy over deaths in nursing homes by COVID-19.
Several lawmakers have asked him to step down, including members of his own party, such as state Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-Yonkers), the highest-ranking Democrat, to call on him to step down. He vowed not to resign.
The Cuomo family matriarch, and widow of former governor Mario Cuomo, said she told her eldest son “to continue doing your job as governor. Because he is a problem solver who does things for the people of New York. “
The three-term governor “is very similar to his father,” said Matilda, adding: “Few people have the skills he has”.
One of the governor’s three sisters, Maria Cuomo Cole, also spoke to the Albany newspaper – and said the entire family “came together” in Andrew.
“He is 100 percent confident.”
None of the women specifically addressed the allegations of unpleasant sexual behavior charged to their loved one.
But Maria, 60, the daughter of the five Cuomo brothers, defended her brother’s background in women’s matters.
“Andrew led the country’s most progressive agenda on issues of women’s equality and social justice,” said Maria, wife of stylist Kenneth Cole.
“He trained more women in leadership positions than any other administration in the state of New York.”
She said it was “disappointing” for the powerful political family to see that the governor “would not receive the support of some elected officials who know their skills so well”.
“But this is politics, to a large extent,” she said.
Her advice to her brother was: “develop a tough skin, keep doing your job, be positive and don’t listen to pessimists”.