Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh on Tuesday afternoon joined a growing list of elected officials calling for Gov. Andrew Cuomo to resign after an investigation found the governor sexually harassed women staffers for years.
“The bravery of the 11 women who came forward to participate in this investigation is inspiring,” Walsh said. “Their statements, including from a member of our own local community, are deeply disturbing.”
Walsh was referring to Virginia Limmiatis, a Syracuse woman who contacted the office of Attorney General Tish James this year to report that Cuomo touched her inappropriately in 2017.
“Given their allegations and the findings of the attorney general after a thorough investigation, the governor’s ability to lead New York is fundamentally impaired,” Walsh said. “In the interest of the people of the state, he should resign as governor.”
Walsh, a political independent who has enjoyed a warm relationship with Cuomo, a Democrat, made his statement after top Democrats and Republicans in Albany and Washington called for the governor to resign.
President Joe Biden, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and the leaders of the New York state Assembly and Senate each called for Cuomo to step aside immediately. Cuomo has refused to heed those calls.
Some state lawmakers have called for expedited impeachment proceedings if Cuomo does not resign.
State Assemblywoman Pam Hunter, D-Syracuse, said Tuesday that she is ready to move forward with the impeachment process after finding the attorney general’s report “deeply disturbing, and at times difficult to read.”
“I would be falling short of my duties as a member of the Legislature if I did not respect the legal rights owed to a person and their entitlement to due process, as established in the United States Constitution,” said Hunter, chair of the Onondaga County Democratic Committee.
“However, based on the overwhelming evidence from the attorney general’s report, it is clear that Governor Andrew Cuomo is no longer fit to serve, or to remain in office,” Hunter said. “It is time for the Assembly Judiciary Committee to review the evidence and findings from the attorney general’s independent investigators and present impeachment articles to the full body of the Assembly.”
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