One drama engulfing New York is the race for mayor of New York City. A late entry into the race is former Governor Andrew Cuomo, 67, who resigned the governor’s office in 2021 amid sexual misconduct allegations and a $5.1 million book deal that Attorney General Letitia James took Cuomo to court to resolve. Each of Cuomo’s failings, and there are many, will be fresh fodder for the others making their bid for the top spot governing the Big Apple.
Besides Cuomo, the candidates include: Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams; New York City Comptroller Brad Lander; State Senators Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie; Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America; former Assembly member, Manhattan borough president, and New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer; former Assemblyman Michael Blake; political neophyte, attorney, and former prosecutor Jim Walden; and another political neophyte, pro-charter school Wall Street moderate, who is focused on public safety, Whitney Tilson, an Upper East Side resident. Running on the Republican ticket is Guardian Angels crime-fighting candidate Curtis Sliwa.
Cuomo is a strong supporter and advocate for Israelis to live in a peaceful environment. At an event to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in 2022, Cuomo announced that he was creating an organization called Progressives for Israel. “You cannot denounce antisemitism but waver on Israel’s right to exist and defend itself. I am going to ask the question for Democrats ‘Do you stand with Israel or do you stand against Israel?’ This effort should be spearheaded by non-Jewish officials who speak first and loudest,” Cuomo said. “If you boycott Israel, New York state will boycott you,” Cuomo said, demonstrating solidarity with Israel.
Cuomo announced his mayoral bid on Saturday, March 1. The following day, he received the endorsements of the New York City and Vicinity District Council of Carpenters, which represents more than 20,000 of skilled tradespeople in New York. District Council 9 of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades represents 11,000 skilled painters and artisans across the five boroughs. Bronx Assemblymembers Yudelka Tapia and formerly incarcerated Eddie Gibbs also endorsed the former governor.
“Our delegates were unanimous: New York City needs Andrew Cuomo back,” Carpenters President Paul Capurso said. “It’s not just because the streets were safer with him or because of the massive projects he started and completed or for taking a state that was once ungovernable and made it function. It’s because he understood why those things mattered. Safer streets meant our families were secure in their neighborhoods and on the subways. Major projects meant good-paying jobs for our members. And when a crisis hit, we had a leader who didn’t care about pissing people off – as long as the job got done. That kind of leadership, that courage, that focus on the middle class, no matter what powerful interests stood in the way, is what we need back at City Hall. This is a working men’s and women’s movement to take back the city we love and we are with Andrew Cuomo all the way.”
The event for Cuomo to receive the union endorsements kicked off with remarks from Bishop Orlando Finlayter, pastor of the Brooklyn-based New Hope Fellowship Church, who was effusive about supporting Cuomo.
Rabbi Roy Feldman, 38, the associate rabbi at Congregation Kehilath Jeshurun, a Modern Orthodox congregation in Manhattan, also spoke. During his remarks, which lasted slightly more than two minutes, Rabbi Feldman never mentioned Cuomo by name. Standing in front of a banner that reads “Cuomo for Mayor,” Rabbi Feldman spoke generally about the need for good leadership.
“Eternal G-d, as we gather today inspired by a shared commitment to our beloved city, we ask for your blessing upon all who dedicate themselves to public service and leadership and grant wisdom, foresight, and fortitude to those entrusted with governing…Strengthen our city’s leaders to work together for the common good to ensure that the city’s streets are safe. That victims are protected and that the rule of law upholds fairness and accountability,” he said. “May our leaders commit to uprooting antisemitism and bigotry in all its forms fostering a city where all people can live in dignity and security…”
“May all who step forward to serve rise courageously to meet the challenges of our time. May peace and prosperity reign in our city and our world. Amen,” Rabbi Feldman concluded.
In the 1970s, Cuomo’s father Mario, who later served as governor, made an unsuccessful bid for mayor of New York City.
A Divorce Between Two Top Political Leaders
Another drama, this one upstate: Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado (D – Rhinebeck, Dutchess County) has told Governor Kathy Hochul (D – Buffalo) he does not intend to be her running mate in next year’s election battle for governor. This turned into a firestorm of petty public retribution by the governor, who felt jilted that she has to choose a third running mate in three election cycles.
Hochul’s first running mate, former state Senator Brian Benjamin (D – Harlem), resigned after spending just seven months as second-in-command. Hochul had appointed him in August 2021 and he was sworn in the following month. As lieutenant governor, Hochul had become governor two days earlier following the resignation of Governor Andrew Cuomo, which created a vacancy in the number two position. However, Benjamin was indicted in April 2022 on federal wire fraud and bribery charges, to which he pleaded not guilty. The charges were dropped two months ago.
In May 2022, three weeks after Benjamin vacated the lieutenant governor’s office, Hochul tapped Delgado, a Hudson Valley Congressman, to fill the void as her surrogate. Delgado was then elected to a full term as lieutenant governor that November as Hochul’s running mate.
Now, following public disagreements with Hochul, Delgado announced last month he would not seek reelection as lieutenant governor in 2026. The Hochul-Delgado ticket defeated the Republican team of Lee Zeldin and Alison Esposito by only 377,834 votes, 53.1 to 46.7 percent, a 6.4 percent margin. That is the closest a Republican team came to defeating a Democratic team in many decades.
First-term lieutenant governors have not been a good match as far back as Gov. Hugh Carey’s term as chief executive. In May of 1974, 50 years ago, Mary Anne Krupsak of Amsterdam and Schenectady, suburbs of Albany, announced she would run for lieutenant governor against Mario Cuomo and Antonio Olivieri. The party faithful rebuffed Krupsak in favor of endorsing Cuomo at the convention. Cuomo lost the primary race to Krupsak.
A former member of the state Assembly and Senate, Krupsak was dissatisfied with the lack of work Carey assigned her. This was similar to the complaint Mario Cuomo had during the one term he served as Carey’s number-two. Even so, Krupsak chose to be on the ticket in 1978 for Carey’s second term, but she decided at the last minute to withdraw from the ticket and instead challenge Carey for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. She lost the Democratic primary to Carey. (Two months ago, Krupsak passed away peacefully at her home on Seneca Lake at the age of 92.)
Like Krupsak, Delgado also hails from Schenectady. During his congressional tenure, he voted in line with President Joe Biden’s stated position 100 percent of the time. As Hochul’s lieutenant, however, Delgado broke ranks with her publicly at least twice. Last summer, he called for Biden to withdraw from the presidential race and hand the reins over to a younger person while Hochul was fiercely defending the president and urging him to remain on the campaign trail.
Taking an implied swipe at Hochul, in a 200-word statement posted on social media, Delgado wrote in part, “I join with millions of Americans – including everyday New Yorkers from all walks of life – who are expressing legitimate concerns about President Biden’s ability to wage a successful campaign against Trump. Sustaining our collective belief in democracy and trust in our democratic institutions requires those of us in elected office to be straight with the American people. Dismissing these voices out of hand is misguided and dangerous. I believe we should move forward with a nominee capable of reinvigorating and reenergizing Americans who are determined to protect our democracy and who want to do so with a candidate they believe can win.”
The second rift occurred one month ago. On February 13, 2025, Delgado called for New York City Mayor Eric Adams to resign from office. At the same time, Hochul was boosting Adams and urging him to stay in office and let the people decide his fate at the polls in June. Delgado became the highest-profile state official to join the calls for Adams to resign.
Following Delgado’s statement, Hochul, through her top staff, said that Delgado “does not now and has not ever spoken on behalf of this administration.” Taking a swipe at Delgado, Hochul also said publicly, “It is obvious Delgado never wanted to do the job of lieutenant governor.”
Hochul said, through a prepared statement, that she had been “seeking a replacement for Delgado on the 2026 ticket before Delgado’s statement on February 24, 2025.”
Delgado has made clear he would not seek the lieutenant governor role as Hochul’s running mate. “I remain deeply committed to finishing my full term as I was independently elected to do by the people of New York. Serving the people of New York is a privilege that I don’t take lightly. I am determined to be your voice in state government now and in the future. All options are on the table and I will be exploring them,” Delgado said.
Some of those options for Delgado might be running for governor, as Krupsak did. If there is a Democratic gubernatorial primary, Delgado could jump over to another, more compatible person at the top of the ticket or take a job in the private sector.
Meanwhile, as far as Hochul is concerned, Delgado can kick back and collect his $210,000 annual salary for the next 22 months, the amount of time left on his term.
Delgado, who is married to a Jewish woman, has said their children are being brought up in the Jewish faith and that the family belongs to a Reform congregation but has close ties with the Hecht family who runs the Chabad in Rhinebeck, Dutchess County.
