Andrew Cuomo accused of sexual harassment by a former aide
Governor Andrew Cuomo, reportedly in contention to be Attorney General for Biden, has been accused of sexual harassment by a former aide, Lindsey Boylan.
On Sunday a former aide to New York Governor Andrew Cuomo accused him on Twitter of having sexually harassed her for years, saying that he made inappropriate comments about her appearance. This comes after he was reported on Friday to be one of four top contenders for Attorney General in President-elect Joe Biden’s incoming administration.
Who is Lindsey Boylan?
Lindsey Boylan, 36, worked as deputy secretary for Empire State Development and as a special advisor to the Governor from March 2015 to October 2018. She has been a frequent critic of the Governor and the work environment in his office. According to the New York Times in 2019 she locked horns with another former aide, Jim Malatras, over the office’s willingness to accommodate working parents. And earlier this month she tweeted out that working in the Cuomo administration was the worst experience she had ever had saying that she had tried to quit three times and “That environment is beyond toxic. I’m still unwrapping it years later in therapy!”
However, according to personnel memos written in 2018, obtained by the Associated Press, show that she resigned after being confronted about her own behavior. Several women at Empire State Development complained to human resources that she “was harassing, belittling and had yelled and been generally unprofessional.” She is currently not talking to reporters saying on Twitter that “My worst fear is that this continues. And as @FKAtwigs said yesterday, my second worst fear is having to talk about and relive this.”
More recently she ran in the 2020 primary in Manhattan’s Upper West Side to unseat the incumbent Representative Jerrold Nadler but was unsuccessful. Currently she has launched a campaign for the 2021 race to be Manhattan borough president.
What has Cuomo said?
Governor Cuomo, 63, at a news conference on Monday flatly denied the accusations saying “Look, I fought for and I believe a woman has the right to come forward and express her opinion and express issues and concerns that she has. But it’s just not true.” Cuomo also suggested that he has no interest in being Attorney General saying “My job as New York governor is nowhere near over,”
In 2018 after the #MeToo movement brought sexual harassment experienced by women from all walks of life to the forefront, Governor Cuomo signed a series of measures to address the issue. More recently he has extended the statute of limitations for claims of sexual harassment.