News & Politics
Cuomo promises to fix the city – and the Democratic Party
Speaking to his heavy-hitting labor supporters at a Monday rally, mayoral candidate Andrew Cuomo said the Democratic Party has forgotten them.
Former Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks at HTC headquarters. Annie McDonough
Andrew Cuomo is running for mayor of New York City, but at a campaign rally with labor unions on Monday, he also suggested he has an answer – or at least a diagnosis – for the ills of the Democratic Party that extend far beyond the five boroughs.
Speaking to a crowd of supporters from the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, 32BJ SEIU and the District Council of Carpenters, the former governor said that a Democratic primary is an opportunity for the entire party to “take a look in the mirror” after losing in November.
“The Democratic Party lost its identity, lost its connection to who it really is. The Democratic Party lost its soul, because you are the soul of the Democratic Party,” Cuomo told union members. “The men and women of New York were always the base of the Democratic Party, and the Democratic Party was not talking to you and the issues that matter to you at your kitchen table.”
As his Democratic socialist rival Zohran Mamdani has claimed to be the candidate with the best policies for the working class, Cuomo has touted the endorsements of some of the city’s largest and most politically influential unions, including HTC and 32 BJ. The public employees union, DC 37, broke from the pack when it endorsed City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Mamdani and state Sen. Zellnor Myrie.
Cuomo’s prescription for the ills that he said kept Democrats at home last November boiled down to doing the opposite: engaging and achieving wins for working class families. Bringing it back to the office he’s currently running for, Cuomo trumpeted his promises to build more affordable housing and raise the minimum wage to $20. His chief rival in the race, Mamdani has pledged to raise the minimum wage to $30 by 2030.
At the rally, Cuomo also took swings at the Democratic Party’s No. 1 enemy, President Donald Trump. “All of those promises about how he was going to help the middle class and help the working families of New York – where are those promises?” Cuomo said. “Now he put forth his budget, he put forth his bills, and you know what he's doing? He’s stepping on the working families of this country to give the rich a tax break.” Cuomo also criticized Trump’s targeting of immigrants. “He believes in divide and conquer,” Cuomo said of Trump. “But he’s in the wrong place if he thinks he’s coming to New York.”
Asked during a post-rally press availability whether running for mayor was an intended stop-off on the way to an even higher public office, Cuomo said it wasn’t. “I am running for mayor because I believe the city is in real trouble,” he said. “I looked at the alternative candidates. I don’t think they have the competence. I don’t think they have the ability.”