3 May 2021: The Diminished Governor

Cuomo forges ahead despite political wounds

This report points to how Governor Cuomo's power has diminished as a consequence of his scandals:

At a Buffalo appearance to encourage Covid-19 vaccinations on Thursday, a reporter asked Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo about his ability to govern and maneuver New York's political shoals amid continuing calls for his impeachment or resignation.

His answer was "not hypothetical," he replied, especially after just wrapping up a $212 billion state budget for 2021-22.

"Since that occurred," he said, referring to controversy over his handling of pandemic death data and accusations of sexual harassment, "look at what I have done. There is no greater test of the premise. If you're going to have trouble governing ... it would be in the budget.

"That was the litmus test of your question," he added.

Indeed, Cuomo commanded his usual position at the head of the negotiating table in early 2021 for what he called "the most complicated budget in modern history [with] the greatest state need ever." As he noted Thursday in his first in-person encounter with Buffalo reporters in months, passing a budget to guide the state through the next fiscal year remains his most important responsibility.

That's Governor Cuomo attempting to put the best possible light on his situation by puffing himself up. The accomplishment is deflated later in the same article:

"I would look at the other side of the coin, his lack of support among Democrats," said James W. Moor, a veteran political scientist who teaches at SUNY Geneseo. "Obviously, he has serious problems of political power."

Crafting a budget with a Democratic Senate and Assembly should hardly rank as a major accomplishment for any governor at the peak of his reign, he said, especially a fellow Democrat.

"I see him as in a very weakened position," Moor added.

But for Governor Cuomo, it is a major accomplishment, given how diminished his power has become.