Names Never Die
A powerful son of a famous political family takes a fall and comes right back.
Even though scandals are supposed to kill any chance of a long-lasting political career, sadly, a lot of politicians are never down and out. Being a guy certainly helps, and if you have a powerful family name, you can potentially have numerous lives in public service.
Andrew Cuomo was once the Democratic Party’s favorite tough guy—the Governor of New York who talked like a teamster, used PowerPoint like a weapon, and acted like the pandemic was his one-person podcast.
For a while, it worked.
In 2020, he won an Emmy for his COVID briefings, sold a best-selling book while the pandemic was still happening, and was floated as a future presidential contender.
And then—just like that—he wasn’t.
But here’s the thing about Cuomo—and politicians like him: resignation isn’t always the end. Sometimes it’s just a commercial break.
In this edition, we cover the wild tale of a man from a powerful politician's family and how, in just four short years, he hopes everyone has forgotten or forgiven his past actions to become the most powerful person in the largest city in the United States.
Let’s dive in.
# 32. The Cuomo Resignation
Introduction
In 2021, New York Attorney General investigated and concluded that Governor Andrew Cuomo had sexually harassed at least 11 women. The report alleged inappropriate touching, unwelcome remarks, and a workplace culture so toxic it could have had its own HR department hotline.
After months of mounting pressure and bipartisan condemnation, Cuomo resigned. Of course, he denied the most serious allegations.
Background
Andrew Cuomo is the oldest son of Mario Cuomo, who rose to power in New York politics shortly after Andrew's birth in 1957.
Andrew was raised in Queens, but there was no doubt he would become a king. Cuomo attended Catholic high school and Catholic university, and by 1982, he had secured his law degree and was his father’s campaign manager for governor, in which he won.
In 1990, Cuomo married Kerry Kennedy, one of Bobby Kennedy's eleven children, including Robert Kennedy Jr., the current Secretary of Health and Human Services and walking misinformation bot.
Cuomo and Kennedy had three children, and I’m not kidding—all three kids have the Kennedy-Cuomo hyphenated names. If they ever enter politics, they are safe from any downfall.
By 1993, Andrew was the Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development in the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Now you can see why long names don’t bother these people.
In 2000, he was confirmed as the head of HUD after a scandal struck a guy with no powerful name, let alone two.
Two years later, Andrew tried for his father's job but lost. He then played around for the next four years, dabbling in law and real estate.
Back from hiatus, Andrew got busy. First, he divorced his wife in 2005. Next, he became New York’s Attorney General. Then, in 2010, with the backing of President Barack Obama, Cuomo ran again for Governor and this time won.
He would win again in 2014. And again in 2018, when he had to defeat one of the actors from Sex and the City. (Is Sex in the City or Sex and the City? I’m not looking it up.)
Lots and lots of years of accumulating power and abusing it. In fact, we could have chosen to discuss plenty of scandals about Andrew. But Sex sells. So this is Sex and the Scandal Rankings.
After the book on leadership hit the shelves and rose to the top of the bestseller lists, former Cuomo aide, Lindsey Boylan, accused Andrew of sexual harassment and making the governor’s office a toxic environment.
Outcome
Boylan’s allegations opened up the floodgates for ten more women, all claiming Cuomo did terrible things and that he should no longer be governor. By August 2021, Cuomo was out.
The disgraced governor admitted he understood that his interactions were insensitive or too personal, but suggested he was just trying to be fun and make jokes. He said life was difficult, while a hospital scandal concerning people dying in the middle of COVID was taking place, the office needed some banter about women’s physical appearances to get through it all.
Before he went down like a sweet muffin, Cuomo did his best to try to smear the women who weren’t happy with the joking while doing serious business. So Andrew secured the help of his younger and much more attractive brother Christopher (all younger brothers named Christopher are more attractive), who would craft responses to everything. His employer, CNN, didn’t take this too kindly and fired Chris.
Flash forward to 2025. Andrew’s back. He’s running for Mayor of New York City. That recognizable name. Cuomo and New York.
Reaction
The Democrats are good at pushing people out of office. It’s like a badge of honor. I’m not suggesting it’s always right, or that it’s always wrong, but there’s a pack mentality when it comes to scandals with Democrats in the past ten to twenty years.
Cuomo’s resignation followed that script. Everyone from President Biden to Speaker Nancy Pelosi told him to go. The New York Assembly was preparing articles of impeachment. It was no longer a matter of if, but when.
The funny thing is – Cuomo left.
But now he is back, and you can’t ignore the funny fact that Cuomo is running when the current Mayor, Eric Adams, was indicted on federal corruption charges. Adams looks to be in the clear because he promises the Trump administration that he will hand over any immigrant they want.
Andrew Cuomo hopes the playbook of being away will turn out like it did when he first lost the governor's election in 2002.
When I put this list together, I thought the Cuomo resignation was interesting, considering his popularity during COVID. I hadn’t realized that he was running for Mayor of New York. I’m not sure why this surprises me because the name never dies.
Does it surprise you? How can some people overcome scandals, while others can’t? Sometimes I feel it’s by sheer will.
Okay, so what do you think? Let’s take a poll:
I feel like April 2025 didn’t happen. Welcome to May!
Thanks to everyone for the continued support of Okay History. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you on Monday.
Okay,
Chris
I think it has a lot to do with charisma, which is very subjective, but some people seem to be able to win over a lot of people with their confidence and bravado while downplaying what they actually say or do (hmmm, sounds like narcissism, doesn't it?). I find Trump's persona abhorrent, and always have, but almost half the people in the country (who obviously lack critical thinking) believe he's smart and cunning just because he appears to be ridiculously wealthy. But you need to be more than smart and cunning to be a great, or even good, leader. I just this moment realized that I have allowed him the power to make me an angry, cynical person whereas I have been a "look on the bright side" person all my life. Something for me to work on...