Politics

Cuomo Advanced a Feminist Agenda. Was That Just Politics? – The New York Times

Published

3 years ago

August 11, 2021

Critics have long grumbled that the governor championed women’s rights when it suited him but also used the cause for his own purposes.

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo often boasts about the work he has done to change the world. On Tuesday, he expressed astonishment that the world had, in his telling, changed without him.

In announcing his resignation, Mr. Cuomo recounted how he had learned — in reading a 165-page report accusing him of sexually harassing nearly a dozen women, and with the help of his three grown daughters — that perhaps he wasn’t the enlightened feminist ally he had meant to be.

“In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn,” he said. “There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have.”

In Mr. Cuomo’s accounting, he was a victim, too: an old-school politician who, like a time traveler stumbling into a different reality, had abruptly discovered a society upended by the MeToo movement. (That such basic expectations have long been taught in kindergarten — Hands to yourself! — seemed somehow forgotten.)

The governor’s not-so-contrite apology set off a wave of criticism from advocates and political rivals who have long grumbled about a gap between his public accomplishments on behalf of women and his willingness to use the rhetoric of feminism to bolster his public image or seize political advantage. The report’s revelations had left them trying to make sense of an even greater disconnect — between the record of a progressive governor who had championed gender equity and women’s reproductive rights and personal behavior that violated the standards he himself had signed into law.

But there was no such ambivalence about Mr. Cuomo’s attempt on Tuesday to explain away his conduct by pleading ignorance of societal standards and expectations of accountability.

“He absolutely knew that this kind of behavior has never been OK or acceptable,” said Assemblywoman Linda B. Rosenthal, a Manhattan Democrat, who said that an Assembly hearing she was leading on rent relief erupted in applause upon hearing news of Mr. Cuomo’s resignation. “The culture has shifted in Albany somewhat, but his behavior was never appropriate. Not 10 years ago. Not five years ago or last week.”

But, Ms. Rosenthal added: “I guess what else is he going to say?”

Mr. Cuomo has rarely been at a loss for words in promoting his feminist credentials. For years, he cast himself as a crusader for women’s rights, often adopting the rhetoric of the MeToo movement.

“There must be zero tolerance for sexual harassment in any workplace,” he wrote on Twitter in 2018, “and we can and will end the secrecy and coercive practices that have enabled harassment for far too long.”

He also frequently suggested that being the father of three daughters had given him special empathy for and insight into the needs of more than half the population — as if sexist men only have sons.

“God told me I was a feminist when he gave me three daughters,” he said at a rally for abortion rights in 2018. “My father was a feminist. God told him he was a feminist when he had 14 grandchildren, 13 girls out of 14 grandchildren.”

In his speech on Tuesday, Mr. Cuomo once again referenced his daughters — his “three jewels,” he called them — but in a very different way, saying that he was pained by the look in their eyes and that he wanted them to know he would never “treat any woman differently than I would want them treated.”

Cindy Schultz for The New York Times

“Your dad made mistakes, and he apologized, and he learned from it,” he added.

Yet in minimizing his behavior as old-fashioned but innocent, Mr. Cuomo also leaned on a familiar political playbook for male politicians accused of sexual harassment: Cite generational changes, a “tactile” style of retail politicking, a desire to connect with voters that overcomes any regard for their personal space.

In April 2019, President Biden relied on a similar explanation after facing charges that his campaign-trail touching made some women uncomfortable — accusations that never took on the gravity of those leveled and substantiated against Mr. Cuomo.

Ms. Rosenthal suggested Mr. Cuomo’s problem was less a reflection of his failure to keep up with societal changes than of his personal sense of entitlement. “It’s sort of like even on his way out, he’s denying his female employees’ experience,” she said.

In his speech, Mr. Cuomo asked voters to remember his landmark progressive accomplishments, including marriage equality, an assault-weapons ban and free college tuition for eligible students.

Notably unmentioned was his record on women’s rights.

In 2012, Mr. Cuomo released a 10-point “Women’s Equality Agenda” that eventually led to a package of laws aiding the fights against workplace and salary discrimination and domestic violence. His efforts escalated after Donald J. Trump was elected president and female voters emerged at the forefront of the opposition to the new administration. On the day that women marched against Mr. Trump’s inauguration, Mr. Cuomo announced that his administration would require health insurers to cover medically necessary abortions and most forms of contraception at no cost — essentially safeguarding protections that Republicans were trying to repeal.

In 2019, he signed the Reproductive Health Act, which enshrined the right to abortion in New York State in case Roe v. Wade were overturned, expanded access to abortions, and allowed abortion after 24 weeks to protect the mother’s health or if the fetus was not viable. He also signed legislation extending the statute of limitations for rape in New York State.

And in August 2019, he signed sweeping anti-sexual-harassment legislation that supporters said would make New York’s laws among the nation’s strongest.

At times, though, Mr. Cuomo exploited the feminist sensibility that was taking root in the national Democratic Party during his tenure.

Before his 2014 re-election, Mr. Cuomo set up a Women’s Equality Party — which put his name on its party line — as a tactical move to fend off a female challenger, Zephyr Teachout, and undercut his rivals in the left-wing Working Families Party.

Some advocates also minimized the degree of difficulty of Mr. Cuomo’s accomplishments and said he could have pushed harder, sooner, and done more.

Cynthia Nixon, who challenged Mr. Cuomo for the Democratic nomination in 2018, said: “Our campaign kept saying that he pays all this lip service to women’s rights, but his allyship was always about a quarter of an inch deep. It was always to give himself political cover and appear like a caring ally, which was far from the truth, obviously.”

As the MeToo movement swept America, Mr. Cuomo emerged as a clarion voice on the side of victims. He surrounded himself with celebrity feminists and allied himself with the leaders of Time’s Up, the organization founded by Hollywood women to fight sexual abuse and promote gender equality. He railed against Republicans for pushing through the nomination of Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court, calling on Mr. Kavanaugh to take a polygraph test. And he trumpeted New York’s sexual harassment legislation in 2019, saying it would “honor the women who have had the courage to come forward and tell their story.”

All the while, however, according to the state attorney general’s independent report, Mr. Cuomo was behaving privately in ways that he condemned publicly.

“What changed is the law caught up to everyone’s common understanding of sexual harassment,” said Rita Pasarell, co-founder of the Sexual Harassment Working Group, a group of former Albany legislative aides who pushed for the legislation. “What hasn’t changed is powerful people thinking they’re above the law. And I think that’s exactly the crux of what’s going on with Cuomo.”

Of course, it was Mr. Cuomo’s selection of a female lieutenant governor that will lead to Kathy Hochul’s being sworn in to succeed him, becoming New York’s first female governor, after 56 men, and only the 45th woman to serve as governor of any state.

Ms. Hochul, who was largely ignored by Mr. Cuomo, will take the reins of state government in the midst of a resurgent pandemic and in the wake of a leader who tightly controlled state government for over a decade.

That’s not atypical, in politics or in business. After men resign in scandal, female leaders are often asked to clean up the messes left behind.

The phenomenon is so familiar it has a name: the glass cliff. A derivation of the glass ceiling, it refers to women being elevated to positions of power when things are going poorly, creating a greater risk of failure.

Some women’s rights advocates and New York officials say that simply replacing Mr. Cuomo with a woman will not be enough. They want lawmakers in Albany to move forward with impeachment proceedings and a conviction, barring Mr. Cuomo from running again for statewide office.

Shaunna Thomas, a founder of UltraViolet, a gender equity advocacy group, said that in watching Mr. Cuomo’s speech, she felt that he was continuing to try to “weaponize feminism in his own defense.”

“This needs to be the start of accountability,” she said of his resignation, “not the end.”

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Politics

‘Disgraceful:’ N.S. Tory leader slams school’s request that military remove uniform

Published

5 days ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston says it’s “disgraceful and demeaning” that a Halifax-area school would request that service members not wear military uniforms to its Remembrance Day ceremony.

Houston’s comments were part of a chorus of criticism levelled at the school — Sackville Heights Elementary — whose administration decided to back away from the plan after the outcry.

A November newsletter from the school in Middle Sackville, N.S., invited Armed Forces members to attend its ceremony but asked that all attendees arrive in civilian attire to “maintain a welcoming environment for all.”

Houston, who is currently running for re-election, accused the school’s leaders of “disgracing themselves while demeaning the people who protect our country” in a post on the social media platform X Thursday night.

“If the people behind this decision had a shred of the courage that our veterans have, this cowardly and insulting idea would have been rejected immediately,” Houston’s post read. There were also several calls for resignations within the school’s administration attached to Houston’s post.

In an email to families Thursday night, the school’s principal, Rachael Webster, apologized and welcomed military family members to attend “in the attire that makes them most comfortable.”

“I recognize this request has caused harm and I am deeply sorry,” Webster’s email read, adding later that the school has the “utmost respect for what the uniform represents.”

Webster said the initial request was out of concern for some students who come from countries experiencing conflict and who she said expressed discomfort with images of war, including military uniforms.

Her email said any students who have concerns about seeing Armed Forces members in uniform can be accommodated in a way that makes them feel safe, but she provided no further details in the message.

Webster did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

At a news conference Friday, Houston said he’s glad the initial request was reversed but said he is still concerned.

“I can’t actually fathom how a decision like that was made,” Houston told reporters Friday, adding that he grew up moving between military bases around the country while his father was in the Armed Forces.

“My story of growing up in a military family is not unique in our province. The tradition of service is something so many of us share,” he said.

“Saying ‘lest we forget’ is a solemn promise to the fallen. It’s our commitment to those that continue to serve and our commitment that we will pass on our respects to the next generation.”

Liberal Leader Zach Churchill also said he’s happy with the school’s decision to allow uniformed Armed Forces members to attend the ceremony, but he said he didn’t think it was fair to question the intentions of those behind the original decision.

“We need to have them (uniforms) on display at Remembrance Day,” he said. “Not only are we celebrating (veterans) … we’re also commemorating our dead who gave the greatest sacrifice for our country and for the freedoms we have.”

NDP Leader Claudia Chender said that while Remembrance Day is an important occasion to honour veterans and current service members’ sacrifices, she said she hopes Houston wasn’t taking advantage of the decision to “play politics with this solemn occasion for his own political gain.”

“I hope Tim Houston reached out to the principal of the school before making a public statement,” she said in a statement.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Saskatchewan NDP’s Beck holds first caucus meeting after election, outlines plans

Published

5 days ago

November 8, 2024

Anne Joseph

REGINA – Saskatchewan Opposition NDP Leader Carla Beck says she wants to prove to residents her party is the government in waiting as she heads into the incoming legislative session.

Beck held her first caucus meeting with 27 members, nearly double than what she had before the Oct. 28 election but short of the 31 required to form a majority in the 61-seat legislature.

She says her priorities will be health care and cost-of-living issues.

Beck says people need affordability help right now and will press Premier Scott Moe’s Saskatchewan Party government to cut the gas tax and the provincial sales tax on children’s clothing and some grocery items.

Beck’s NDP is Saskatchewan’s largest Opposition in nearly two decades after sweeping Regina and winning all but one seat in Saskatoon.

The Saskatchewan Party won 34 seats, retaining its hold on all of the rural ridings and smaller cities.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.

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Politics

Nova Scotia election: Liberals say province’s immigration levels are too high

Published

6 days ago

November 7, 2024

Anne Joseph

HALIFAX – Nova Scotia‘s growing population was the subject of debate on Day 12 of the provincial election campaign, with Liberal Leader Zach Churchill arguing immigration levels must be reduced until the province can provide enough housing and health-care services.

Churchill said Thursday a plan by the incumbent Progressive Conservatives to double the province’s population to two million people by the year 2060 is unrealistic and unsustainable.

“That’s a big leap and it’s making life harder for people who live here, (including ) young people looking for a place to live and seniors looking to downsize,” he told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

Anticipating that his call for less immigration might provoke protests from the immigrant community, Churchill was careful to note that he is among the third generation of a family that moved to Nova Scotia from Lebanon.

“I know the value of immigration, the importance of it to our province. We have been built on the backs of an immigrant population. But we just need to do it in a responsible way.”

The Liberal leader said Tim Houston’s Tories, who are seeking a second term in office, have made a mistake by exceeding immigration targets set by the province’s Department of Labour and Immigration. Churchill said a Liberal government would abide by the department’s targets.

In the most recent fiscal year, the government welcomed almost 12,000 immigrants through its nominee program, exceeding the department’s limit by more than 4,000, he said. The numbers aren’t huge, but the increase won’t help ease the province’s shortages in housing and doctors, and the increased strain on its infrastructure, including roads, schools and cellphone networks, Churchill said.

“(The Immigration Department) has done the hard work on this,” he said. “They know where the labour gaps are, and they know what growth is sustainable.”

In response, Houston said his commitment to double the population was a “stretch goal.” And he said the province had long struggled with a declining population before that trend was recently reversed.

“The only immigration that can come into this province at this time is if they are a skilled trade worker or a health-care worker,” Houston said. “The population has grown by two per cent a year, actually quite similar growth to what we experienced under the Liberal government before us.”

Still, Houston said he’s heard Nova Scotians’ concerns about population growth, and he then pivoted to criticize Prime Minister Justin Trudeau for trying to send 6,000 asylum seekers to Nova Scotia, an assertion the federal government has denied.

Churchill said Houston’s claim about asylum seekers was shameful.

“It’s smoke and mirrors,” the Liberal leader said. “He is overshooting his own department’s numbers for sustainable population growth and yet he is trying to blame this on asylum seekers … who aren’t even here.”

In September, federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller said there is no plan to send any asylum seekers to the province without compensation or the consent of the premier. He said the 6,000 number was an “aspirational” figure based on models that reflect each province’s population.

In Halifax, NDP Leader Claudia Chender said it’s clear Nova Scotia needs more doctors, nurses and skilled trades people.

“Immigration has been and always will be a part of the Nova Scotia story, but we need to build as we grow,” Chender said. “This is why we have been pushing the Houston government to build more affordable housing.”

Chender was in a Halifax cafe on Thursday when she promised her party would remove the province’s portion of the harmonized sales tax from all grocery, cellphone and internet bills if elected to govern on Nov. 26. The tax would also be removed from the sale and installation of heat pumps.

“Our focus is on helping people to afford their lives,” Chender told reporters. “We know there are certain things that you can’t live without: food, internet and a phone …. So we know this will have the single biggest impact.”

The party estimates the measure would save the average Nova Scotia family about $1,300 a year.

“That’s a lot more than a one or two per cent HST cut,” Chender said, referring to the Progressive Conservative pledge to reduce the tax by one percentage point and the Liberal promise to trim it by two percentage points.

Elsewhere on the campaign trail, Houston announced that a Progressive Conservative government would make parking free at all Nova Scotia hospitals and health-care centres. The promise was also made by the Liberals in their election platform released Monday.

“Free parking may not seem like a big deal to some, but … the parking, especially for people working at the facilities, can add up to hundreds of dollars,” the premier told a news conference at his campaign headquarters in Halifax.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 7, 2024.

— With files from Keith Doucette in Halifax

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