Andrew Mark Cuomo born (December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who has served as the 56th governor of New York since 2011.
A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position his father, Mario Cuomo, held for three terms, and he is the brother of CNN news anchor Chris Cuomo.
Born in Queens, New York City, Cuomo is a graduate of Fordham University and Albany Law School. He began his career working as the campaign manager for his father in the 1982 New York gubernatorial election, then as an assistant district attorney in New York City before entering private law practice.
He founded a housing non-profit and was appointed chair of the New York City Homeless Commission by New York City Mayor David Dinkins, a position he held from 1990 to 1993.
Cuomo served as Assistant Secretary of Housing and Urban Development for Community Planning and Development from 1993 to 1997. From 1997 to 2001, he served in President Bill Clinton’s Cabinet as the 11th United States secretary of housing and urban development. After failing to win the Democratic primary in the 2002 New York gubernatorial election, in 2006, Cuomo was elected Attorney General of New York.
Cuomo won the 2010 New York gubernatorial election to become governor of New York and was reelected twice after winning primaries against progressive challengers Zephyr Teachout in 2014 and Cynthia Nixon in 2018.
Since late 2020, Cuomo has faced allegations of sexual harassment. An investigation commissioned by New York Attorney General Letitia James reported in August 2021 that Cuomo sexually harassed eleven women during his time in office, and Cuomo faces criminal investigations for these allegations. On August 10, 2021, he announced that he will resign as governor of New York on August 24.
1. You don’t build walls, you build bridges between people. – Andrew Cuomo
2. Fear has never built a community. And fear will never build a nation. – Andrew Cuomo
3. If you go from $7 to $15 in a very short period of time, potentially that could have a negative effect on some economies because that is a very big jump. And you’re saying to businesses that employ a large number of minimum wage workers, your payroll is basically going to double. That could have a negative impact. It would have to be studied. – Andrew Cuomo
4. If I get sued for keeping people safe and getting people in from the cold because they were endangering themselves, then so be it. – Andrew Cuomo
5. The Declaration of Independence says when government fails, the people have the right to replace it. Well, New York State government has failed and the people have the right, indeed the people have the the people have the obligation, to act. – Andrew Cuomo
6. You can be a lender who wants to compete and have a better product, but you just can’t get to the students. The schools are controlling the access to the students. – Andrew Cuomo
7. Whether you voted for me or not, going through the Democratic process had made me a better candidate. I am a smarter, better candidate. – Andrew Cuomo
8. Once you start saying, ‘Let’s talk political, my own politics, my own aspirations,’ it can become not just distracting in that it takes time, but it can become confusing and frustrating, and is this now a political agenda or a governmental agenda. – Andrew Cuomo
9. Fear is a powerful weapon. It can excite and motivate, and it can get people to yell and to scream. But fear has never created a job. – Andrew Cuomo
10. I believe we need to attract a new generation of the best and brightest to public service and I believe that government can be a source of inspiration, not degradation. – Andrew Cuomo
11. I believe discrimination still exists in society and we must fight it in every form. – Andrew Cuomo
12. When you become president, they don’t give you a magic wand that you wave. You have to get legislation passed. You have to get agencies to run programs. – Andrew Cuomo
13. I am fiscally prudent and socially progressive. I believe in protecting a woman’s right to choose. I believe in marriage equality. – Andrew Cuomo
14. ‘Give me your poor.’ It didn’t say, ‘Give me your poor who can afford a $680 citizenship.’ If I had my way, it would be free. If I had my way, the state would subsidize every eligible application, period. – Andrew Cuomo
15. If I weren’t doing the politics, I wouldn’t be doing my job. – Andrew Cuomo
16. A governor can be a very good friend to people. A governor can be a formidable force. – Andrew Cuomo
17. Fight as hard as you can, and then understand there’s going to have to be some amount of reasonable compromise. – Andrew Cuomo
18. When you try to communicate too many ideas, sometimes you wind up communicating nothing. – Andrew Cuomo
