Women in NY Politics Say Cuomo Was Just the Beginning

[brooklynite]

Politico

Last year, New York Senator Julia Salazar was approached by a former New York political staffer whom Salazar described as still politically well-connected in Brooklyn. He wanted to talk to her about some issues, he said. Salazar represents the area where they both live, so she said yes, expecting a chat over coffee.

Instead, the former staffer showed up dressed nicely and suggested a white-tablecloth Italian restaurant. It was unusual, but Salazar tentatively went along with it. She said his comments veered toward her appearance. He touched her hand a few times. He asked if she liked boats, because he had a lot of friends in the Hamptons who had boats, and he could take her out on one. He also said that he had driven by her apartment and noticed she didn’t have a car. Would she like one? he wanted to know. “I can do things for you,” he said a few times. To Salazar, the implication was clear: He was looking for a sugar baby. And he was hoping Salazar would be interested.

When New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation this week, the woman who will succeed him, Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, pledged to clean up the “toxic work environment” that had flourished under Cuomo. But I spent the week talking with women in New York politics and government—politicians and staffers, current and former—and they’re not sure it will be so easy. They say the culture—of harassment, of sexism, of bullying, of protecting those in power—goes so much deeper than Cuomo.

“I’ve worked in other industries, including service industries. I’ve worked as a waitress and barista,” Salazar said. “And in all of those workplace environments, I did not find sexism and gender-based harassment and sexual harassment to be as pervasive as it is in politics in Albany.”

[Srkdqltr]

1. Hang 'em all.

Not literally, of course.