Andrew Cuomo, the Governor of NY State, has recently been accused of sexual harassment and acting in an inappropriate manner, by 6 women. These accusations have led to calls for Gov. Cuomo to resign from office, and have raised serious questions regarding his personal integrity. These accusations could not have been highlighted at a worse time, as Gov. Cuomo’s office is simultaneously battling claims about withholding data about COVID-related nursing home deaths. This is not the first time that a politician has been accused of abusing their power to get away with what they want. In recent years, multiple reports of similar incidents have been cropping up throughout the world, and at an alarming rate. The good part about this is that people finally feel safe and confident enough to stand up for themselves, and speak out against the wrongdoings of people in power. The bad part, as we all know, is that this is occurring in the first place.
Gov. Cuomo has been accused by 6 women, some of who worked with him, and some who met him on certain personal occasions. One of the women to step up – Charlotte Bennett, is a 25-year old woman worked with Mr. Cuomo and resigned in November, 2020. She has accused Gov. Cuomo of inquiring about her sex life, and if she was okay with having sexual relations with older men. He made it plenty clear that he wanted to sleep with Ms. Bennett, and this, for obvious reasons, made Ms. Bennett uncomfortable, and eventually, resign. When she reported the following incident, no concrete action was taken, and rather, she was transferred to another job. Another woman, Lindsey Boylan, stepped up and called out Gov. Cuomo for an unsolicited kiss her on the lip, and for asking her to play strip poker on a flight in 2017. Anna Ruch met the Governor at a wedding in September 2019 and recalled that he had made uncalled advances toward her. Since, she is not a government employee, this raises questions regarding Gov. Cuomo’s personal ideology and integrity. Three other women, namely Karen Hilton, Ana Liss, and the woman who has not yet been named, have also come forth with similar allegations regarding Gov. Cuomo’s unwanted advances.
After these volatile accusations made toward Gov. Cuomo, he apologized and claimed that he was embarrassed of his actions and poor conduct. However, he denies touching anyone inappropriately and has given the office of the State Attorney General, Letitia James, the authority to investigate these claims. Currently, Ms. James has hired two lawyers to look into the details of the matter, and lead the investigation. However, due to the power the results could have and the amount of scrutiny that is to be involved, it can take months to come to a solid conclusion.
Being a female college student, reading about such misuse of power by authorities that the citizens have elected is shameful, and disheartening. It is these people who should be protecting the rights and integrity of the citizens, and yet, here they are, acting just the opposite of what they should be doing. Even if Gov. Cuomo is eventually punished for whatever misdeeds he committed, it is sad to think that he thought he could get away with it, just because he is in power. I am so delighted to see that these women are standing up, and voicing the hurt they have gone through to make sure that other women don’t suffer similar consequences, and that the person who is wrong gets what they deserve. All I hope for is that such abuse of power discontinues in the future, and that democracy prevails. Looking at current incidents, I understand that it is a very lofty ideal to accomplish, but if it is not achieved now, how many more people are going to have to suffer at the hands of those in power? And for what should they suffer? It is about time that people understand that having power does not, and will not, make them invincible. Justice should, and will, prevail.