29 October 2021: Letitia James Announces Run for NY Governor

Letitia James officially launches bid for NY governor against Kathy Hochul

NY State Attorney General Letitia "Tish" James is throwing her hat into the ring in running for the Democratic Party nomination for New York Governor:

State Attorney General Letitia James officially launched her bid for governor Friday.

James, whose investigative report found that former Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed or mistreated 11 women and forced him from office, will challenge Gov. Kathy Hochul and possibly city Public Advocate Jumaane Williams in what is expected to be a fierce Democratic primary.

Her announcement comes a day after Cuomo was charged with groping a former aide in Albany’s Executive Mansion — a crime that could send him to jail for a year if he’s convicted. The forcible touching allegation against Cuomo from executive staffer Brittany Commisso was laid out in the attorney general’s harassment report.

The attorney general also released a damning report in January that found the Cuomo administration had vastly undercounted the number of nursing home residents who died from the coronavirus.

“As I’ve traveled all around New York state, I have witnessed too many working families struggling to make ends meet, and it’s clear that the status quo just won’t do,” James said in a statement.

“New Yorkers need a governor who isn’t afraid to stand up to powerful interests on behalf of the vulnerable. Throughout my career, I’ve taken on big forces and New Yorkers know I will never back down when it comes to fighting for them. Today, I am proud to announce my candidacy for governor of New York so we can bring transformational change that uplifts all New Yorkers.”

If James chooses, she has an easy path to differentiate herself from Hochul on a policy that matters: cleaning out the enforcers of Andrew M. Cuomo's deadly 25 March 2020 directive and holding Cuomo accountable for the excess COVID deaths that resulted among New York's nursing home residents.