![]() ![]() ![]() Now I was a part of his kitchen cabinet - the group of trusted, unofficial advisers - that he was relying on to help him weather the allegations of sexual harassment. I reconnected with him at the beginning of COVID’s onslaught on New York in March of 2020, when he’d call me for thoughts on his daily briefings. I’d had an on-off professional relationship with Cuomo for the past three years, starting with his 2018 campaign, where I served as spokesperson and ran his debate prep. Most recently, I’d served as a senior adviser on Pete Buttigieg’s against-all-odds presidential campaign, where he’d defied conventional wisdom, won the Iowa caucuses and become one of the Democratic Party’s biggest stars. It had taken me 17 years - and 20 campaigns - to claw my way up the political ladder and go from a lowly field organizer to one of the top communications aides in the Democratic Party. He had a knack for finding people who could agree with even his worst instincts. ![]() He was looking for a sympathetic voice, as he often did on calls. “Lis,” Cuomo started in his halting, Queens-inflected cadence, “what do you think?” “So, you’re telling me I don’t fight back? I don’t do a press conference? Why don’t I just resign then?” If I, a man, were accused of doing any of the things you were, I would be out of a job by now.” “It was more than touching a woman on the back. The adviser, someone not prone to hyperbole or challenging the governor unnecessarily, didn’t mince words. “It’s over because I touched a woman on the back?” Cuomo shot back, his voice rising with a pitched tone of panic. There is no path forward for you,” the adviser responded. That morning, the Attorney General of New York released a bombshell report that concluded that he’d broken state law by sexually harassing women staffers in his administration. But on Augwhether he was willing to accept it or not - he was a dead man walking. ![]()
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