Former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo said he is humbled after former state Comptroller Carl McCall encouraged him to run for New York City mayor in an open letter — and left the door open as to his future political plans.
“Today, in these uncertain times, and after more than four decades of friendship and counsel, I thank him for his faith in me and for his advice, trust and confidence,” Cuomo wrote. “His sentiments are both humbling and deeply meaningful.”
Cuomo, who has not formally entered the race but is leading polls to challenge New York City Mayor Eric Adams in the June primary, received support over the weekend from the 89-year-old former comptroller, who noted he had never urged a candidate to run for office.
“Donald Trump wants us to fail as a community. For that reason, the leadership of New York City has rarely, if ever, been as vital as it is today,” McCall wrote. “The Mayor of New York must not only have the competence and capacity to manage the City’s real challenges, but the mayor must have the ability to defend our city and demonstrate a powerful counterbalance to President Trump. The people of New York cannot be represented by someone whose loyalty to the city is compromised — we deserve a Mayor of New York to be for New York.”
“I have never publicly urged a candidate to run for office. But I have never before felt it so necessary to use my voice,” he wrote Saturday. “For these reasons, I urge Governor Andrew Cuomo to run for Mayor of the City of New York and I offer my full support. . . .
“Some might be surprised that I am supporting Andrew so strongly and so early,” he added, in a reference to how the two were political rivals during a 2002 gubernatorial contest which earned Cuomo backlash from the black community. “But despite how it is sometimes framed in the press, we were never political adversaries: twenty years ago, we were competing candidates who shared then and share now the same core values of what is right and wrong and sought to make New York a better place.”
Cuomo resigned as governor in 2021 after facing a slew of sexual harassment claims. McCall’s endorsement comes after the Justice Department asked a court on Friday to dismiss corruption charges against Adams, touching off resignations and turmoil inside the Trump DOJ. McCall endorsed Adams in 2021.
While Cuomo has not entered the race, he released a campaign-style video on Valentine’s Day telling senior citizens, “I missed you.” He responded to the letter by saying he and McCall “have a special bond that starts before me.”
“I first had the pleasure of meeting Carl when I was in my early 20s when he worked with my father, the late Mario Cuomo, as the state’s human rights commissioner and together the two fought to make New York a fairer, more just place for all who live here,” Cuomo wrote on Saturday.
“In these divisive and troubling times, his voice is needed more than ever – for his is one of moral clarity, experience and guided by what is right for the people above all else,” the former governor added.