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Andrew Cuomo
Cuomo’s Reaction
May 10th - 12:36 pm
I’m getting around to this a little late, but here’s the full question and answer session after that hastily arranged news conference with Gov. Andrew Cuomo reacting to President Obama endorsing same-sex marriage.
Cuomo eschewed releasing just a statement, choosing to praise the president’s decision in person.
Fred Dicker said today on his Talk-1300 radio show that CBS News had reached out to do an interview with Cuomo, which was turned down.
Long: Obama ‘As Big A Flip-Flopper’ As Gillibrand
May 10th - 11:25 am
It looks like same-sex marriage will indeed be a campaign issue this year, even if Gov. Andrew Cuomo thinks it isn’t a “political issue” by President Obama.
Republican Senate hopeful Wendy Long used the announcement to paint both the president and her possible November opponent, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, as “flip-floppers” on the issue of same-sex marraige and said they were trying to draw attention away from ecnoomic issues.
“President Obama has now established that he’s as big a flip-flopper as Senator Gillibrand, and it is no wonder: they are both desperate to shift the national spotlight away from their terrible record on jobs, our skyrocketing federal debt, taxes and federal spending,” Long said in a statement.
Long, a lawyer from Manhattan running her first campaign, has said she’s opposed to same-sex marriage, a stance that she says reflects a conservative reading of the U.S. Constitution. It’s a position that could play well in a low-turnout Republican primary, but potentially cause serious headaches in a general election match-up in an overwhelmingly blue state.
Long also criticized Obama and Gillibrand for “not respecting the right of citizens in every state to make the laws they wish regarding marriage” though the president (and Cuomo) agreed yesterday that the issue is left to individual states.
Obama was actually criticized in some corners of the web yesterday for not going far enough in supporting gay marriage. Obama, in his interview with ABC News, said he “personally” support gay marriage.
“Instead of respecting the right of citizens in every state to make the laws they wish regarding marriage, and instead of focusing on the serious economic problems confronting our state and our nation, Kirsten Gillibrand has chosen to focus on a national campaign pledging to, in her words, ‘take this fight all across the country,’ in an effort to impose her own personal social agenda.”
Long faces Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos and Rep. Bob Turner in a June 26 primary.
Cuomo Reacts: ‘Consistency Is Nice, Sometimes Evolution Is Smarter’
May 9th - 5:02 pm
Gov. Andrew Cuomo told reporters at a quickly assembled news conference this afternoon that he didn’t expect negative political fallout for President Obama now that he has said he supports same-sex marriage
“People respect officials who are willing to stand up and give their positions on controversial issues whether or not they agree or disagree with it,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo went further, saying he didn’t even consider it a “political” issue.
“I don’t know the political impact of it. I don’t know that anyone knows the political impact of it,” Cuomo said. “I don’t even know that it’s a political issue, quite frankly.”
It’s an interesting comment from Cuomo, given that he was instrumental in passing same-sex marriage legalization here in New York last year. The passage of the law almost one year ago now catapulted him to the national stage and fueled talk that he would run in 2016.
The governor said he was proud that Obama, in the interview with ABC News, that New York’s approach of this being a civil matter, not a religious one, was reference.
And yet, Cuomo earlier in the afternoon said he didn’t talk with Obama on the issue of same-sex marriage when the president was in Albany on Tuesday.
Cuomo reiterated again that he wouldn’t divulge any private conversations he had with Obama.
Beyond the symbolism of the first president declaring his support for gay marriage, Cuomo said the move could help spur others to change their minds.
This is a decision that has basically been made state by state. But I think the fact that the president of the United States takes this position will cause people around the country to say let me think about this again. We use the word evolving or evolution when it comes to this issue. We tend to have a traditional point of view that we may have had one way or the other at a young age. There are some issues in life I believe that you should re-evaluate from time to time. Consistency is nice, but sometimes evolution is smarter.
Cuomo said he is working with the Assembly and Senate on the gender non-descrimination bill, but added that he was not optimistic it will pass this legislative session.
Disabilities Overhaul A Priority, Cuomo Says
May 9th - 2:32 pm
The laundry-list of reforms to how the state treats its vulnerable population of the developmentally disabled is the top legislative priority through the end of the session in Albany, Gov. Andrew Cuomo today told reporters.
“Of all the things we have to get done, or would like to get done, let me say it that way, this is the most important,” Cuomo said.
Since the passage of the state’s $132.6 billion budget plan a day before the deadline, Cuomo hadn’t completely atriculated what his main priority was for the rest of the session, which ends June 21.
He’s danced around embracing an increase to the state’s $7.25 minimum wage and has acknoweldged the difficulty of passing an overhaul of campaign-finance laws that include a public financing system.
But today, Cuomo laid out a plan to push lawmakers to pass his bill on remedying the poor reporting, abuse and neglect at state-run and state-sponsored facilites for the disabled.
Cuomo said he is launching a website, justice4specialneeds.com, and is marshaling a coalition of advocacy groups to communicate with the public on the needed for making sweeping changes to the system. The effort is to also meant to push lawmakers into passing the reforms this year.
“One year is too long,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo listed other pieces of legislation, including how to manage the exposure of teacher evaluations and the i-STOP prescription drug legislation. He didn’t mention campaign finance or the minimum wage measure.
Cuomo also said he is willing to negotiate the developmental disabilities bill, but said, “there’s not a lot to negotiate with. My position is this is just the ring thing to do.”
“You don’t have to get practical and not everything has to be a kabuki dance and subject to a complicated negotiation,” he said.
Cuomo Says He Didn’t Talk To Obama About Gay Marriage
May 9th - 1:38 pm
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he didn’t talk to President Obama about supporting same-sex marriage, saying it isn’t his place to advise anyone whose views might be evolving on the matter.
But with Cuomo at his side yesterday it again called to mind that the president’s stance on same-sex marriage is in the process of shifting while New York’s executive, with gusto, successfully led an effort to push for the legalization of the rights last year.
Cuomo said it was “an intensely personal decision.”
“If you’re in the middle of the evolution, I don’t know if you know you’re in the middle of the evolution,” Cuomo said. “I don’t know if you really can help someone or talk it through with someone. I think people get facts, they become informed, peoples’ opinions evolve, opinions change, sometimes they don’t. I don’t think it’s for me to counsel anyone on this issue.”
Vice President Joe Biden, along with several cabinet secretaries, say they support same-sex marriage rights, throwing into sharp contrast Obama’s unclear view on the issue.
“I leave that to the president,” Cuomo said.
The governor has hoped that the successful push for gay marriage in New York would lead to a wave of approval across the country.
But while the conversation over the issue has increased, the wave hasn’t happened just yet. Voters on Tuesday in the swing state of North Carolina — where the Democratic National Convention will be held this summer — approved the banning of same-sex marriage in a referendum.
And while Obama says he was “disappointed” in the result, Cuomo today said he understood the need for self-determination for states.
“I believe in states’ rights,” Cuomo said. “I would like to see a place where this law is accepted all across the nation. I’ve advocated as such, I don’t know if the solution should be the federal government telling people what to do. I think the American people will get there and I think they’re on the road to getting there.”
It’s a nuanced stance for Cuomo, who as a governor, would want to support at least in theory of leaving provisions like marriage up to states (Texas Gov. Rick Perry became embroiled in the reverse of this issue when he was running for president).
“Obviously I believe the actions of this state speak loudly,” Cuomo said. “I think the action that we took is a forceful action nationwide. I think the influence of New York is being felt.”
As to whether he would sign on to a campaign pushing for a pro-gay marriage plank at the convention this summer — as NY state Chairman Jay Jacobs has — Cuomo said that decision was up to the national party.
There’s also speculation as to whether he’ll campaign for Cuomo, which, as Casey Seiler pointed at out at the Q and A, could be potentially awkward if the president hasn’t clarified his stance.
“I’m sure that’s one of the factors that they’ll calculate,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo: Oh, There Was A Presidential Seal In Front Me?
May 9th - 12:34 pm
The image of Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday standing in front of the presidential seal is now going to be one of those things dragged out whenever 2016 is mentioned.
But Cuomo, who introduced President Obama at yesterday’s visit at UAlbany’s nanotech event, joked that he didn’t even realize it was there.
“I didn’t notice the seal until I saw your picture,” Cuomo said in response to a question from The DN’s Ken Lovett. “From my perspective I didn’t see the seal.”
OK, sure, but was it a comfortable lectern to give a speech at? A natural fit perhaps?
“As podiums go, I thought it was a nice podium,” Cuomo said.
Cuomo has said that he doesn’t want to get bogged down in talk of running for president, saying addressing the speculation would hamper his ability to govern the state.
“Once you start saying, let’s talk politics, my own politics, my own aspirations, it can become not just distracting in that it takes time, but it can become confusing and frustrating,” Cuomo said last month. “All I’m working on is being the best governor I can be.”
Asked today at a cabinet meeting in the Red Room if he would be up for replacing Vice President Joe Biden on the ticket, Cuomo ruled that out completely.
“No, I would not believe it is in the realm of possibility,” he said.
The presidential seal travels with the president and is placed in front of the podium when the commander-in-chief arrives to an event location.
Photo credit: AP
No Reporter Dossiers, Administration Says
May 9th - 10:51 am
A Freedom of Information Law request made by our NY1 colleague Zack Fink to the Cuomo administration for “dossiers” of reporters yielded this verdict: There aren’t any, at least according to Justin Levin, the governor’s FOIL officer.
Zack made the request after, shall we say, there was a heightened interest in what notes Gov. Andrew Cuomo and his team were keeping on the reporters who cover the Capitol and state government.
“Please be advised that the New York State Executive Chamber has conducted a diligent search, but does not possess records that pertain to your request,” the letter Zack received on Tuesday read.
Of course, this all depends on how the administration’s lawyers define “dossiers” or files kept on individual reporters.
Cuomo’s Praise For Obama
May 9th - 10:40 am
Gov. Andrew Cuomo praised President Obama during his trip to the Albany nanotech facility this afternoon, crediting him leading the country out of economic turbulence.
Here’s the full, 6-minute introduction of Obama by Cuomo.
“…Your leadership has brought this nation through the storm and we thank you,” Cuomo said.
The governor, who has pushed for job creation in the upstate region through public-private partnerships, credited the president with turning around the economy in New York.
“Mr. President, with your help, New York is not just building back not just to where we were before the recession, we are building back to a better, stronger and safer place than this state has ever been,” Cuomo said.
He added: “I can promise you this, because of your leadership, this state is not going backwards, this state is going forwards.”
The Democratic governor, however, also made sure to reference New York’s achievements that he has personally championed over the last 16 months.
“Mr. President we are on the other side and we are building a new New York and it is working because this New York is open for business,” Cuomo said. “We are opening new yogurt plants in Johnstown, we are making electric trucks in the Bronx and railway cars in the North Country and we are manufacturing again.”
If anything, the speech and the president’s address highlighted how both men view government’s role in stimulating private sector job growth.
As Ken Lovett pointed out today, the speech also served to give political junkies a tantalizing glimpse into the possible future of the “Cuomo-in-chief” behind the presidential seal.
It’s also perhaps the most animated we’ve seen the governor when talking about Obama.
Cuomo has said he would campaign for the president if asked, he would.
“I will support the president however they want me to support the president, you know, and I’ll leave it to them to determine whatever they want me to do,” Cuomo said at a Red Room news conference on Monday.
Priebus: ‘Chicken’ Obama Is ‘No Cuomo’
May 9th - 7:09 am
ICYMI: RNC Chairman Reince Priebus did some post-presidential speech pushback on CapTon last night, calling the commander-in-chief “chicken” for refusing to make plain his position on same-sex marriage while top aides – including VP Joe Biden – are coming out on the subject.
I asked the chairman if he thinks this is a case of Obama trying to have it both ways – signaling to the LGBT community that he’s indeed in their corner, while not actually declaring that’s the case in hopes of preserving his standing with independents, blacks, Latinos and other key voting blocks that lean right on this issue.
“I wouldn’t put it past the president to purposely keep his position vague, but then bring people around him – like (US Education Secretary) Arne Duncan and Joe Biden and everyone else – talking about that well, the president’s position is evolving,” Priebus responded.
“What does that mean? We have to wait for some bulletin to figure out what the president’s positions are on major issues across America.”
“It’s a pretty chicken thing to do, I think. And I think as president of the United States he ought to have enough guts to just tell everyone what he thinks instead of just trying to play games.”
Priebus isn’t the only one with this opinion.
Even some members of Obama’s own party – including former DNC Chairman and ex-Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell – are calling on the president to make his position on same-sex marriage clear. (Specifically, the plain-spoken Rendell said Obama should “man up” on the issue).
Asked for his opinion on Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is widely speculated to be eyeing a White House run in 2016, Priebus said he doesn’t know “Andrew” – (apparently, they’re on a first-name basis?) – but then added:
“This president is no Cuomo. He’s no Bill Clinton. He’s no John Kennedy.”
“This is a Democrat that does not square with mainstream America – whether you’re mainstream Democrats or mainstream Republican. This is a Democrat that does not square with America’s priorities. And, you know, leadership is doing just that.”
This led to a larger discussion about what it means to be a leader. I noted Cuomo was both widely criticized (by the right) and hailed (by the left) for pushing same-sex marriage through the Legislature last summer, winning his national acclaim.
By Priebus’ standards – a leader says what he thinks and then acts on it – Cuomo would seem to measure up, although they chairman didn’t come right out and say that.
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