Cuomo faces an obstacle course in NYC mayor's race
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo will tout the NYC mayoralty as a management and budgeting job that needs his operational savvy. Credit: Jeff Bachner
Seasoned ex-Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s unusual bid to morph into rookie New York City Mayor Andrew M. Cuomo has brought him outsize attention on national media.
So far, the 67-year-old Cuomo’s "comeback" announcement is getting enough initial respect to give him front-runner status for the Democratic nomination. A consultant’s recent poll shows him backed by 38% of respondents versus 10% for incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and 12% for Assemb. Zohran Mamdani.
Reasons go beyond name recognition.
Cuomo "got stuff done," as the buzz-phrase goes, in nearly three terms as governor. Early on, he prodded a Republican-controlled State Senate to agree to legalize same-sex marriage and pushed through a property tax cap. Later, in the city, the new Moynihan Train Hall, new Kosciuszko Bridge, LaGuardia Airport reconstruction, and the Second Avenue Subway went on his resume.
Cuomo will tout the mayoralty as a management and budgeting job that needs his operational savvy as he seeks to fend off past controversies and scandals.
It's a powerful prize. The city has a budget larger than those of most states and its charter gives a mayor more unchecked clout than the state constitution gives the governor.
Cuomo will have strong campaign funding, union support, and contacts in ethnic communities.
But this contest will be about a lot more than the public interviewing him for a civic job, and victory is far from guaranteed. Cuomo's aggressive style of conduct in the campaign will be defining.
Governors are state party bosses. Over the years, Cuomo’s high-handed approach alienated other party players from Albany to Washington, which didn’t help him when impeachment made it to the Democratic-controlled legislature's agenda in 2021, prompting his resignation.
Many people have not forgiven the emergence of multiple allegations of sexual harassment against him. His performance in the COVID-19 pandemic and his $5 million deal to write a COVID memoir while in office also will be fair game for inspection before the June 24 primary for which petitioning is underway.
Adams, an allegedly corrupt ex-cop with a rascal's charisma, looks unlikely to win again, but so far is apparently running. As far as he gets, he could constrain Cuomo in Brooklyn.
Cuomo speaks of saving the city. Adams retorted Monday at City Hall: "I do believe we need to be saved — from him."
The idea of Cuomo becoming the city’s "anti-Trump" is hazy. His verbal attacks could be limited.
Staten Island’s Democratic organization, the first to endorse Cuomo, must operate in the smallest borough, which gave Trump 65% of its votes last fall.
Cuomo, meanwhile, must also delve into deep-blue territory. Vice President Kamala Harris got 73% of the Bronx vote last fall, 62% in Queens, 82% in Manhattan, and 72% in Brooklyn.
Different candidates find different turf. City Comptroller Brad Lander and ex-Comptroller Scott Stringer are vying on Manhattan's Upper West Side. Cuomo should revisit his old Queens stamping grounds. State Sen. Zellnor Myrie knows his Crown Heights district.
Ranked choice voting began in 2021. With or without it, the win-loss record isn’t great for those who led at first. Remember "front-runner" Andrew Yang? He landed fourth four years ago. Christine Quinn had the early buzz in 2013, but lost. That same year, Ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who'd resigned in disgrace five years earlier, lost a nasty comeback race for comptroller. Primaries often prove tantalizingly close. The nearly four months remaining allows enough time for shifts in this big-city party machinery with its many moving parts. Can Cuomo work the levers?
Columnist Dan Janison's opinions are his own.
Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.
