Mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo received a warm welcome as he accepted the endorsement of public service workers’ union, known as Teamsters Local 237.
What You Need To Know
- Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo took questions from reporters on the campaign trail for the first time
- Cuomo sidestepped talking about personal and political controversies
- Other candidates in the race sharpened their attacks on Cuomo
On Thursday, Cuomo took questions from reporters for the first time since entering the race for mayor.
“I think my record speaks for itself,” he said.
Pressed on his top three mistakes as governor, Cuomo notably did not mention his resignation, sexual harassment allegations or his administration’s pandemic response in nursing homes. Instead, he said he would have added more police to the MTA, and done more to prepare ahead of the pandemic.
“Then I think I would have taken it all with two grains of salt,” Cuomo added. “Sometimes I took everything too seriously.”
Cuomo acknowledged passing congestion pricing as governor, saying he believes it’s the right long-term policy but he questioned if now is the right time.
“We’re in a fragile time right now. Post COVID, you’re still trying to get back to full occupancy,” he said.
Former Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. stood alongside Cuomo as the latest local leader to back the former governor for mayor.
New polling from Quinnipiac shows Cuomo leading the democratic contenders with 31% support.
On Thursday, fellow mayoral challengers were quick to take a swipe at the frontrunner.
“Let’s give Andrew Cuomo credit because he brought the warm weather from wherever he was living,” former City Comptroller Scott Stringer said in a press conference Thursday.
City Comptroller Brad Lander referenced ranked choice voting.
“I’m a fan of the dream strategy. Don’t rank Eric or Andrew,” he said.