A little over a week after Ana Liss publicly accused then-New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of inappropriate behavior in the workplace in March 2021, she received a call from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand. The Democratic senator from New York wanted to offer her support.
Liss was struggling with the amount of public attention she was getting; she was the third woman to accuse Cuomo of workplace sexual misconduct. “That was very significant and meaningful to me,” Liss said of the call. “She alluded to her own negative experiences with Cuomo when they worked together at HUD [the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development] many years ago.”
By August 2021, 12 women had come forward with their own stories about Cuomo. An investigation by the New York state attorney general concluded that Cuomo did sexually harass multiple female employees and create a “hostile work environment for women.” Gillibrand, a leading women’s advocate, called on Cuomo to resign four months before the AG’s investigation substantiated the harassment claims. She was a key voice that helped force a reluctant Cuomo to step down.
Three years after Cuomo resigned as governor of New York, he’s now the front-runner in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor. And Gillibrand has changed her tune: “This is a country that believes in second chances. So it’s up to New York voters to decide if he should get a second chance to serve,” she recently told NY1. (Gillibrand’s office did not respond to follow-up questions about her call to Liss.)
