8 October 2021: Which Cuomo Loyalists Were Ousted and Which Ones Remain?

Which Cuomo loyalists were booted from office – and which ones remain?

This report is far from complete, but it does attempt to answer both questions asked in the headline for higher profile Cuomo appointees embedded in New York's state government. It is limited to those officials who did not leave office when Andrew M. Cuomo resignation took effect on 24 August 2021.

Here's the short list of Cuomo officials who have been booted, many of which will be familiar to timeline readers (the names presented in boldface font):

• Howard Zucker
• Larry Schwartz
• Michael Hein
• Steve Cohen
• Letizia Tagliafierro
• Norman Birenbaum

Here's the short list of Cuomo appointees who are remaining in their positions, at least for now, where the names of two have come up in the timeline:

• Robert Mujica
• Jay Jacobs
• Jim Malatras
• Rick Cotton
• Basil Seggos
• Rossana Rosado

Of the "remainers", Jim Malatras stands out because of his role in Andrew M. Cuomo's COVID nursing home deaths scandals. Here's an excerpt from the report:

Hochul doesn’t have the final say in this matter, but she has given no indication that she intends to ask for SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras’ resignation. Prior to taking that role, Malatras had a long history of working for Cuomo and his ties to the former governor was one of his best selling points. But as SUNY chancellor, Malatras continued as a confidant for the governor and even had a hand in drafting a report from the administration on nursing home deaths that obscured the numbers. He also worked on Cuomo’s controversial pandemic memoir. But his name never appeared in the state attorney general’s report on sexual harassment, so despite his Cuomo ties, it seems Hochul is fine with keeping him around.

This report confirms that Hochul is selectively picking and choosing which state attorney general she is using to make personnel retention decisions. That's disappointing, because the COVID nursing home deaths scandals are much more serious than the Cuomo sexual harassment scandals, involving hundreds, if not thousands of more victims who paid for the Cuomo administration's policy choices with their lives. Failing to seek Malatras' resignation represents a real leadership failure on Hochul's part.