Cuomo's governorship plagued with a culture of bullying

Democratic New York state Governor Andrew Cuomo has been plagued by scandals in recent weeks as politicians from both sides of the aisle call for his resignation or impeachment.

Among Democrats, the chief concern is in regard to various sexual harassment and assault allegations levelled against the Governor. Six women, most of whom are former aides, have now come forward alleging behaviour from inappropriate comments to groping.

Republicans and some Democrats such as state Assemblyman Ron Kim, have expressed outrage after it was revealed that Cuomo's administration allegedly suppressed the true number of nursing home deaths from coronavirus after he forced nursing home residents who tested positive for the virus back into their residences. It is estimated that the state undercounted the number of nursing home deaths by as much as 50 percent.

On top of these two scandals, a culture of bullying which pervaded Cuomo's administration and played a role in keeping these allegations under wraps is being revealed, New York Magazine reports.

The accusations of bullying have come from multiple Democratic public officials in the state. Democratic state Assemblyman Ron Kim spoke of threats by Cuomo's administration to "destroy" him if he continued investigating the nursing home scandal. Later, New York City Mayor Bill De Blasio described allegations of bullying as "classic Andrew Cuomo." One former employee of Cuomo's, Joel Wertheimer, has described the workplace environment as "toxic," causing him to leave in just seven months. Democratic Assemblywomen Alessandra Biaggi and Yuh-Line Niou have now described the Governor's behaviour as abusive.

In one incident, Biaggi received text messages from top Cuomo aide Melissa DeRosa calling her "full of shit," a "terrible person," and criticizing her for not speaking up more about the potential impact of the coronavirus pandemic early on despite her "big mouth." Given this type of language, it may be understandable why Biaggi did not want to speak up in the first place.

Once praised for his heavy-handed approach to governance, observers of Cuomo are now increasingly convinced that his behaviour was not so much a show of strength as it was a method of controlling and intimidating his subordinates.

Cuomo is also being accused of specifically seeking out attractive women to work in his office. One woman, who went only by the name Kaitlin, described how shortly after being hired by a new firm, she was uncomfortably grabbed by Cuomo in front of her colleagues at a fundraiser. Not long afterward, she was offered a job in his administration. "We all knew that this was only because of what I looked like," she asserted, noting that their interaction only lasted a couple of minutes.

Working for Cuomo, Kaitlin described how she was often forced to come to work early with minimal notice, and would then be critiqued for her looks when she arrived. "You decided not to get ready today?" Cuomo asked her at one point. "You didn’t put makeup on today?" was another question Cuomo would allegedly ask.

Kaitlin, who was still paying off her student loans, also noted that she was often required to wear clothing and accessories that were well out of her price range for the Governor's approval. Such claims are corroborated by multiple other women, who have described how they were required to wear high heals whenever the Governor was around.

Kaitlin described another incident where Cuomo met a woman with a dove tattoo at a Super Bowl party. The next day, Cuomo asked his aides to track down this woman so that she could be hired to work for him. The incident gave Kaitlin the realization that this is likely how she was hired as well.

"His briefers were always beautiful, leggy young women right out of college," one woman in his office noted.

She went on to describe the culture of bullying which pervaded Cuomo's administration. At one point, Cuomo threatened that he would "end your career" after a technical issue regarding phone call transfers. At this point, Kaitlin sought a way out of the administration, but was overcome with anxiety as it was rumoured in the office that Cuomo would threaten the future job prospects of people who left his administration.

The serious allegations levelled against the Governor, which come from both staffers, lawmakers, and other Democratic Party officials, could spell the end of Cuomo's career as Governor. As accusations of bullying, harassment, and corruption continue to mount, the once-Democratic superstar may become the first New York state governor to be impeached since 1913.