Early life and education

Cuomo was born on December 6, 1957, in the New York City borough of Queens, the eldest son born to lawyer and later governor of New York, Mario Cuomo and Matilda (née Raffa). His parents were both of Italian descent; his paternal grandparents were from Nocera Inferiore and Tramonti in South Italy, while his maternal grandparents were both from Sicily (his grandfather from Messina). His younger brother is CNN journalist Chris Cuomo.

He graduated from St. Gerard Majella's School in 1971 and Archbishop Molloy High School in 1975. He received his B.A. from Fordham University in 1979, and his J.D. from Albany Law School in 1982.

Early career

During his father's 1982 campaign for governor, Cuomo served as his campaign manager, and then joined the governor's staff as one of his father's top policy advisors and sometime-Albany roommate, earning $1 a year.

From 1984 to 1985, Cuomo was a New York assistant district attorney, and briefly worked at the law firm of Blutrich, Falcone & Miller. He founded Housing Enterprise for the Less Privileged (HELP) in 1986 and left his law firm to run HELP full-time in 1988. From 1990 to 1993, during the administration of Mayor of New York City David Dinkins, Cuomo served as Chairman of the New York City Homeless Commission, which was charged with developing policies to address the homeless issue in the city and to develop more housing options.

Secretary of HUD

Andrew Cuomo was appointed to the Department of Housing and Urban Development as Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development in 1993, a member of President Bill Clinton's administration. After the departure of Secretary Henry Cisneros at the end of Clinton's first term under the cloud of an FBI investigation, Cuomo succeeded him as Secretary of HUD in January 1997 after being unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate, serving until 2001 when Clinton's administration ended.

In 2000, Cuomo led HUD efforts to negotiate an agreement with the United States' largest handgun manufacturer, Smith & Wesson, that required Smith & Wesson to change the design, distribution and marketing of guns to make them safer and to help keep them out of the hands of children and criminals. Budgets enacted during his term contained initiatives to increase the supply of affordable housing and home ownership, and to create jobs and economic development. These included new rental assistance subsidies, reforms to integrate public housing, higher limits on mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration, a crackdown on housing discrimination, expanded programs to help homeless people get housing and jobs, and creation of new Empowerment Zones.

During Cuomo's tenure as HUD Secretary, he called for an increase in home ownership. He also pushed government-sponsored lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy more home loans issued to poor homeowners, in an attempt to end discrimination against minorities. Some believe that this helped lead to the recent subprime mortgage crisis. Edward J. Pinto, former chief credit officer at Fannie Mae, said "they should have known the risks were large. Cuomo was pushing mortgage bankers to make loans and basically saying you have to offer a loan to everybody." But others disagree with the assessment that Cuomo caused the crisis. Dean Baker, co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, said Cuomo "was a contributor in terms of him being a cheerleader, but I don't think we can pin too much blame on him."

According to libertarian author and critic James Bovard, Cuomo was obsessed with changing HUD's image, as Cuomo declared, "The PR is the important thing I do...Eighty percent of the battle is communications." He championed a new program called Community Builders, created without appropriation by Congress, for 800 new HUD employees with state-of-the-art computers to be paid as much as $100,000. In a June 16, 1999, speech, Cuomo declared that one purpose of the program was to fight against HUD's abolition. In August 1999, Community Builders distributed a letter to community groups to fight against proposed tax cuts. One HUD official declared that Community Builders were seen as "Democratic ward heelers who act as a pipeline between Democratic city officials, party leaders, and the administration and the Democratic National Committee." In 1998, Clinton-appointed HUD Inspector General Susan Gaffney testified to a Senate committee that she was the victim of "'escalating' attacks on her office by Cuomo and 'his key aides,' including cooked-up charges of racism, insubordination, malfeasance, and general dirty-dealing." In 1999, Gaffney's office concluded that "most (15 out of 19) Community Builders' goals were activities rather than actual accomplishments." and that Cuomo's initiatives "had a crippling effect on many of HUD's ongoing operations." According to former Gov. Eliot Spitzer the Cuomo administration is hindered by Cuomo's reputation for being "the dirtiest, nastiest political player out there".

2002 gubernatorial election

See also: New York gubernatorial election, 2002

Cuomo first ran for the Democratic nomination for Governor in 2002. He was initially the favorite for nomination, and led in fund-raising and polls, but his campaign took serious damage after a gaffe when Cuomo said (in reference to the aftermath of the September 11 attacks) "Pataki stood behind the leader. He held the leader's coat. He was a great assistant to the leader. But he was not a leader. Cream rises to the top, and Rudy Giuliani rose to the top." His remarks were widely derided, and even his father, former governor Mario Cuomo, later admitted it was a blunder.

On the eve of the state convention, Cuomo withdrew from consideration after concluding that he had little chance of support as opposed to the favored party candidate, State Comptroller Carl McCall. McCall went on to lose the general election to George Pataki.

New York Attorney General

Election

Main article: New York attorney general election, 2006

Cuomo declared his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for New York State Attorney General in 2006, and on May 30, 2006, captured the Democratic Party's endorsement, receiving 65% of the delegates. Though Cuomo won the endorsement, former New York City Public Advocate Mark J. Green, two-time candidate for lieutenant governor Charlie King, also earned places on the Democratic ballot. King dropped out of the race before the primary and endorsed Cuomo.

Cuomo won the primary with a majority of the vote, defeating his nearest opponent by over 20%. Clinching the Democratic party nomination was considered a significant rebound following his unsuccessful and unpopular 2002 gubernatorial campaign and at the nominating convention, June O'Neill, the Democratic chairwoman of St. Lawrence County, called him "New York's own Comeback Kid." He won the general election against the Republican nominee, former Westchester District attorney, Jeanine Pirro on November 7, 2006, winning 58% of the vote.

Tenure

Police surveillance, 2007

Main article: Eliot Spitzer political surveillance controversy

On July 23, 2007, Cuomo's office admonished the Spitzer administration for ordering the State Police to keep special records of then-Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno's whereabouts when he traveled with police escorts in New York City. At the discretion of top officials of the Spitzer administration, the New York State Police created documents meant to cause political damage to Bruno. Spitzer responded by accepting responsibility and issuing an apology to Bruno.

Student loan inquiry, 2007

In 2007, Cuomo was active in a high-profile investigation into lending practices and anti-competitive relationships between student lenders and universities. Specifically, many universities steered student borrowers to a "preferred lender," which resulted in the borrowers' incurring higher interest rates. This led to changes in lending policy at many major American universities. Many universities also rebated millions of dollars in fees back to affected borrowers.

Usenet, 2008

On June 10, 2008, Cuomo announced that three major Internet service providers (Verizon Communications, Time Warner Cable, and Sprint) would "shut down major sources of online child pornography" by no longer hosting many Usenet groups. Time Warner Cable ceased offering Usenet altogether, Sprint ended access to the 18,408 newsgroups in the alt.* hierarchy, and Verizon limited its Usenet offerings to the approximately 3,000 Big 8 newsgroups. The move came after Cuomo's office located 88 different newsgroups to which child pornography had been posted.

Corruption investigation, 2009

Cuomo investigated a corruption scandal, "fraudulent scheme to extract kickbacks", which involved New York investigators, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and attorneys general in dozens of states.

U.S. Senate

See also: Possible appointment choices for the New York Senate seat

After Hillary Rodham Clinton became President Obama's choice for U.S. Secretary of State, Governor David Paterson was charged with appointing a temporary replacement until a special election. Cuomo was seen as a leading contender for this appointment. Caroline Kennedy (also the first cousin of Cuomo's ex-wife) was another leading contender, but withdrew for personal reasons two days before Paterson was set to announce his choice, leaving Cuomo and US Representative Kirsten Gillibrand as the most likely appointees. On January 23, Paterson announced he would appoint Gillibrand to the Seat.

Governor of New York

Elections

2010

Main article: New York gubernatorial election, 2010

On September 18, 2009, advisors to President Barack Obama informed Governor David Paterson that the President believed he should withdraw his 2010 gubernatorial candidacy, stepping aside for "popular Attorney General Andrew Cuomo." On January 23, 2010, the New York Daily News reported that Cuomo would announce plans for a gubernatorial campaign at the end of March. Later reports indicated Cuomo would announce his gubernatorial campaign coinciding with the state Democratic Convention in late May. On May 22, 2010, Cuomo announced his run for Governor in a video posted to his campaign website. Cuomo announced his choice for Lt. Governor on May 26, 2010: Mayor of Rochester, Robert Duffy.

In the November 2, 2010, general election, Cuomo faced Republican Carl Paladino, a Buffalo-based businessman who had been heavily supported by the Tea Party movement. Cuomo won the election for Governor by a landslide, winning 62.6% of the vote. Paladino performed strongly in his native Buffalo area, while Cuomo performed well in the Eastern part of the state as well as downstate.

Gubernatorial election in New York, 2010
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Swing
	Democratic	Andrew Cuomo		2,609,465	56.52%	1.82%
	Working Families	Andrew Cuomo		154,835	3.35%	0.05%
	Independence	Andrew Cuomo		146,576	3.17%	0.89%
	Total	Andrew Cuomo	Robert Duffy	2,910,876	63.05%	2.65%
	Republican	Carl Paladino		1,289,817	27.94%	4.40%
	Conservative	Carl Paladino		232,215	5.03%	1.44%
	Taxpayers	Carl Paladino		25,825	0.56%
	Total	Carl Paladino	Greg Edwards	1,547,857	33.53%	6.41%
	Green	Howie Hawkins	Gloria Mattera	59,906	1.30%	0.41%
	Libertarian	Warren Redlich	Alden Link	48,359	1.05%	0.74%
	Rent Is Too Damn High	Jimmy McMillan	None	41,129	0.89%	0.61%
	Freedom	Charles Barron	Eva M. Doyle	24,571	0.53%
	Anti-Prohibition	Kristin M. Davis	Tanya Gendelman	20,421	0.44%
		Scattering		4,836	0.10%	N/A
Majority				1,363,019	29.52%	9.06%
Totals				4,616,836	100.00%
	Democratic Hold

In addition to the parties fielding candidates, New York's electoral fusion laws allow parties to cross-endorse candidates. The Independence Party and Working Families Party cross-endorsed Andrew Cuomo, while the Conservative Party and Taxpayers Party cross-endorsed Carl Paladino. The Independence Party line received 146,648 votes (5.0% of Cuomo's total, and 3.2% of the statewide total) and the Working Families line received 154,853 votes (5.3% and 3.4%), with the Democratic line receiving the remaining 2,610,220 votes (89.6% and 56.5%). The Conservative line received 232,281 votes (15.0% of Paladino's total, and 5.0% of the statewide total) and the Taxpayers line received 25,821 votes (1.5% and 0.6%), with the Republican line receiving the remaining 1,290,082 votes (83.3% and 27.1%).

2014

See also: New York gubernatorial election, 2014

On March 5, 2014, Westchester County Executive Rob Astorino announced that he would run on the Republican ticket against Cuomo for governor. Law professors Zephyr Teachout and Tim Wu mounted an under-financed but spirited challenge to the Cuomo-Hochul ticket in the Democratic primary election—capturing 34% of the vote on the gubernatorial line (Wu drew 40.1% as lieutenant governor). On November 4, 2014, Cuomo was re-elected for a second term with 54% of the vote, compared to Astorino's 40.6%.

Democratic Party gubernatorial primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Andrew Cuomo	361,380	62.92
	Democratic	Zephyr Teachout	192,210	33.47
	Democratic	Randy Credico	20,760	3.61
Total votes			594,287	100.00

Democratic Party lieutenant gubernatorial primary results
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Kathy Hochul	329,089	60.20
	Democratic	Tim Wu	217,614	39.80
Total votes			546,703	100.00

Despite a low voter turnout, Cuomo won easily. Although his victory was smaller than his 2010 Victory. Despite Astorino winning most of upstate New York, he was overwhelmed in New York City like Republicans usually are in New York. Cuomo was sworn in for second term as Governor. His Lt. Governor was replaced by former U.S. Representative Kathy Hochul due to health issues.

Gubernatorial election in New York, 2014
Party		Candidate	Running mate	Votes	Percentage	Swing
	Democratic	Andrew Cuomo		1,811,672	47.08%	9.44%
	Working Families	Andrew Cuomo		126,244	3.22%	0.13%
	Independence	Andrew Cuomo		77,762	2.02%	1.15%
	Women's Equality	Andrew Cuomo		53,802	1.41%	N/A
	Total	Andrew Cuomo	Kathy Hochul	2,069,480	54.19%	8.86%
	Republican	Rob Astorino		1,234,951	32.59%	4.65%
	Conservative	Rob Astorino		250,634	6.60%	1.57%
	Stop-Common-Core	Rob Astorino		51,294	1.39%	N/A
	Total	Rob Astorino	Christopher Moss	1,536,879	40.24%	6.71%
	Green	Howie Hawkins	Brian Jones	184,419	4.86%	3.56%
	Libertarian	Michael McDermott	Chris Edes	16,967	0.42%	0.63%
	Sapient	Steven Cohn	Bobby Kumar Kalotee	4,963	0.13%	N/A
		Scattering		6,378	0.19%	0.09%
Majority				480,605	13.26%	16.74%
Totals				3,930,310	100.00%
	Democratic Hold

Tenure

Cuomo took the gubernatorial oath of office at 12:01 a.m. on January 1, 2011, succeeding David Paterson. During his first year as governor, Cuomo worked to pass an on-time budget that cut spending without raising taxes, made a new deal with a large state-employee union, signed ethics reform legislation, passed a property tax cap, worked to enact a same-sex marriage bill with bipartisan support, and restructured New York's tax code. There had been media speculation about a 2016 presidential run.

His approach has been described by the press as "muscular." Tom Libous, the Republican State Senate deputy majority leader said, in 2013, "When I share something he doesn't like, he gets very quiet. He stares at you."

Same-sex marriage

In keeping with a campaign promise, Cuomo signed same-sex marriage legislation on June 24, 2011, following an "intense public and private lobbying campaign." After same-sex marriage legislation passed the New York State Senate, Cuomo remarked, "The other states look to New York for the progressive direction... What we said today is, you look to New York once again. New York made a powerful statement, not just for the people of New York, but for people all across this nation." In a post-vote press release, he added, "New York has finally torn down the barrier that has prevented same-sex couples from exercising the freedom to marry and from receiving the fundamental protections that so many couples and families take for granted... With the world watching, the Legislature, by a bipartisan vote, has said that all New Yorkers are equal under the law. With this vote, marriage equality will become a reality in our state, delivering long overdue fairness and legal security to thousands of New Yorkers."

Cuomo was lauded for his efforts to pass same-sex marriage legislation. One prominent same-sex marriage advocate stated that "for gay Americans, Mr. Cuomo was "the only national politician with hero status." In the fall of 2011, Cuomo made a speech calling for all states to legalize same-sex marriage; Cuomo stated that "We need marriage equality in every state in this nation... Otherwise, no state really has marriage equality, and we will not rest until it is a reality." Following the passage of the Marriage Equality Act, Cuomo was criticized for describing the viewpoints of same-sex marriage opponents as being "anti-American." On July 25, 2011, a lawsuit was filed in the New York Supreme Court seeking an injunction against the Marriage Equality Act, alleging corruption and violations of the law in the process of passing the bill. The trial court held that the plaintiffs' case could proceed, stating that "clear arm-twisting by the Executive on the Legislative permeate entire process" by which the same-sex marriage law was passed. But on appeal, the Appellate Division reversed the trial court's decision, holding, "It is ADJUDGED and DECLARED that defendant New York State Senate did not violate the Open Meetings Law (Public Officers Law art. 7) in enacting the Marriage Equality Act (L. 2011, ch. 95, § 3) and that marriages performed thereunder are not invalid."

Taxes

Cuomo received accolades for his 2011 restructuring of the New York State tax code. Cuomo also received criticism for including tax increases for high earners, and for allegedly requesting a unanimous Assembly vote in favor of the proposal and threatening to campaign against Assembly members who voted "no" - a charge Cuomo denied. Cuomo also received criticism from voices on the left who felt that the Governor's tax reform was not far-reaching enough.

Gun control

On January 15, 2013, Cuomo signed into law the first state gun control bill to pass after the December 14, 2012, Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in neighboring Connecticut. The NY SAFE Act was described as the toughest gun control law in the United States. The act came under criticism, and the National Rifle Association called it draconian. The New York State Sheriffs' Association issued a statement supporting tougher penalties for illegal use of firearms, but criticizing several aspects of the legislation, including a magazine limit of seven rounds and a "too broad" definition of assault weapons.

On July 5, 2013, Cuomo signed an amendment to the NY SAFE Act that exempts retired police officers from some of the act's ownership restrictions.

Hurricane Sandy

After Hurricane Sandy's wrath of October 29-31, 2012, which was to go on record as the deadliest and most destructive storm of the 2012 Atlantic hurricane season, many New York residents had homes damaged beyond habitability. Governor Cuomo worked closely with President Barack Obama and with Governor Chris Christie of New Jersey, which was even more hard-hit, to come to their aid. Cuomo allowed New York voters, via a specific provision aimed at accommodating those displaced, to cast provisional ballots for the 2012 election anywhere in New York state. "Just because you're displaced doesn't mean you should be disenfranchised.", Cuomo said. He also appointed a commission to examine the responses of New York utilities to damage caused by the storm.

Controversy erupted when the Cuomo administration used $140 million, including $40 million of federal disaster relief funds, to pay for the broadcast of national TV ads promoting "New New York" slogans outside New York in an attempt to attract new business investment to the state. Many have been critical of the effort, including former New York governor Eliot Spitzer, who called the ads "fluff" and "a waste of taxpayer money".

Hydraulic fracturing

In June 2012, the Cuomo administration said it was considering lifting a state ban on the practice of hydraulic fracturing (also known as "fracking") to stimulate the economy in upstate New York. But critics said that fracking in Upstate New York could contaminate the water supply of New York City, New Jersey and parts of Pennsylvania. Following a long-awaited study started years earlier, New York State health officials cited "significant public health risks" associated with fracking, and on December 17, 2014, the Cuomo administration announced a ban of hydraulic fracturing in New York State.

Public employees

On July 16, 2011, Cuomo finalized a five-year deal with the Public Employees Federation to end pay raises, implement furlough days, and require additional contributions to health insurance accounts. In an interview with The New York Times, Cuomo stated his top goal in 2012 is the reduction of public employee pensions.

Support for declared disaster areas

In 2009, a flash flood devastated the village of Gowanda, New York, causing two deaths. Four-foot-deep flood waters swept through the village, causing significant damage. The village was declared both a state and federal disaster area. In January 2014, Cuomo announced the award of $700,000 in compensation monies for the village from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) as a result of the flood. In making the announcement, Cuomo said:

This funding will go a long way to offset recovery costs incurred by the village of Gowanda when it was struck by severe flooding in August 2009. After several years of advocating for FEMA to release this funding, I am pleased that the village is receiving this long-overdue and deserved support. This will allow Gowanda to move on from the damage that was incurred, and continue to reimagine their community for the new reality of extreme weather.

Moreland Commission

In July 2014 it was reported that the Moreland Commission, a committee established by Cuomo to root out corruption in politics, was directed away from investigations that could be politically damaging. Cuomo later abruptly and controversially disbanded the Commission.

Marijuana Legalization

In January 2014, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced the introduction of restrictive measures to make medical marijuana available to 20 designated hospitals for the treatment of cancer and glaucoma. Later in July, New York became the 23rd state to allow the medical use of marijuana as the Governor signed the Compassionate Care Act, not without drawing the criticism of legalization activists, though.

Remarks about conservatives

In a January 17, 2014, interview with Susan Arbetter on WCNY's The Capital Pressroom, Cuomo stated,

are searching to define their soul, that's what's going on. Is the Republican party in this state a moderate party or is it an extreme conservative party?... The Republican Party candidates are running against the SAFE Act — it was voted for by moderate Republicans who run the Senate! Their problem is not me and the Democrats; their problem is themselves. Who are they? Are they these extreme conservatives who are right-to-life, pro-assault-weapon, anti-gay? Is that who they are? Because if that's who they are and they're the extreme conservatives, they have no place in the state of New York, because that's not who New Yorkers are. If they're moderate Republicans like in the Senate right now, who control the Senate — moderate Republicans have a place in their state. George Pataki was governor of this state as a moderate Republican, but not what you're hearing from them on the far right.

This remark has received a major reaction in the conservative media. Radio host Glenn Beck wrote a letter to the governor regarding the remarks from the interview. Fox News contributor and radio/TV show host, Sean Hannity mentioned emigrating along with all of his assets from the state if the governor does not apologize from the remarks. Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, said during a radio broadcast that the governor's remarks were "most unfortunate at best. Are there pro-lifers who are extremist? Yes, there are. But I think they are a distinct minority."

The New York State Democratic Committee supported Cuomo's remarks and reiterated them in a May 2014 statement responding to a speech by Rob Astorino, who was running against him in the 2014 gubernatorial election: "Tea Party Republicans have done enough damage in Washington, today's speech made it abundantly clear that we don't need them here in New York."

Personal life

Cuomo married Kerry Kennedy, the seventh child of Robert F. Kennedy and Ethel Skakel Kennedy, in 1991. They had three children: Cara, Mariah and Michaela Cuomo. They separated in 2003 and divorced in 2005. In 2011, he began living with Food Network host Sandra Lee. The two reside in Westchester County, New York.

On July 4, 2015, Cuomo presided over the wedding ceremony of his longtime friend Billy Joel to his fourth wife Alexis Roderick.

Published works

Andrew M. Cuomo, All Things Possible: Setbacks and Success in Politics and Life, New York: Harper, 2014. ISBN 978-0-06-230008-9.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]