The front-runners for New York City mayor debate past controversies in a heated debate

New York City mayoral contenders Zahran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo wasted little time attacking each other over alleged personal scandals they were involved in during Wednesday night’s debate between the two and GOP candidate Curtis Sliwa.

Mamdani and Sliwa took the opportunity during Wednesday’s debate to delve into past sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo, the former governor of New York, ahead of the impeachment inquiry that preceded Cuomo’s 2021 resignation. Cuomo also took a beating from Mamdani over accusations that — while in public office — he failed to meet with Muslim voters and only began to do so amid pressure from his mayoral campaign, and over his alleged mishandling. With COVID-19 in New York after Cuomo was party to issuing guidelines forcing nursing homes and long-term care facilities to accept patients with COVID-19.

Meanwhile, Cuomo has not backed down from targeting Mamdani over the alleged controversies that have hampered his campaign. Cuomo criticized the self-proclaimed socialist for his lack of experience, his ties to extremist politics, and his past extremist comments about law enforcement, Israel, and the situation in Gaza.

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“My main opponent has no new ideas. He has no new plan,” Cuomo said of Mamdani during the debate. “He has never run anything, never run anything. He has never had a real job.” Cuomo also described Mamdani as someone who has proven to be a “divisive force in New York,” pointing to past incidents that drew criticism from Mamdani from critics.

Among those incidents was a photo he took with a hardline Ugandan lawmaker who pushed for policies of imprisoning people for being gay, which Mamdani took while on a break from campaigning to visit his native Uganda for a wedding. Cuomo has also sparked controversy over whether Mamdani supports Jewish New Yorkers, with his critics claiming he is anti-Israel and pointing to statements he has made, such as the “globalization of the intifada.”

Cuomo also accused Mamdani of disrespecting Italian Americans after a video surfaced of him pointing his middle finger at a statue of Christopher Columbus, while also noting the criticism the self-proclaimed socialist candidate received from 9/11 first responders after posting a photo with a Muslim cleric who served as a personal witness to the mastermind behind the 9/11 attacks.

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Cuomo continued: “You have been a divisive force in New York, and I think that is a toxic energy for New York. It is with the Jewish community. It is with the Italian-American community – when you point to the Columbus statue. It is with Sunni Muslims when you say decriminalize prostitution, which is forbidden. They are the Hindus.” “Then, you take a photo with Rebecca Kadaga, the Deputy Prime Minister of Uganda…. She is known as Rebecca the ‘Gay Killer’. … You are a Ugandan citizen. You took the photo. You said you didn’t know who she was. It turns out you did. How can you not renounce your citizenship or demand a boycott of Israel (BDS) against Uganda for imprisoning gay people just because of their sexual orientation? Isn’t that a fundamental violation? For human rights?

Mamdani responded by saying that his policies have remained “consistent” and that they are based on a belief in the human rights of all people, including members of the LGBTQ+ community. Mamdani said that if he had known about Kadja’s role in drafting legislation to imprison gay people, he would never have taken the photo.

“This continued attempt to discredit me and slander me is also an attempt to distract from the fact that you, unlike me, do not actually have a platform or set of policies,” Mamdani responded to Cuomo before making his own allegations about the former governor in connection with past sexual harassment accusations.

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“Mr. Cuomo. In 2021, 13 different women who worked in your administration credibly accused you of sexual harassment. Since then, you have spent over $20 million of taxpayer money defending yourself, all while calling these allegations purely political,” Mamdani said while attacking Cuomo on Wednesday night.

“You have gone so far as to legally pursue these women. One of these women, Charlotte Bennett, was here in the audience this evening. I have sought access to her gynecological records. She cannot speak for herself because you have filed a defamation case against her. However, I can speak. What do you say to the thirteen women whom you sexually harassed?”

In 2021, Cuomo was accused of several incidents of sexual harassment that preceded his resignation as governor that year. A subsequent report from New York Attorney General Letitia James confirmed that Cuomo “sexually harassed multiple women from 2013 through 2020,” while the US Department of Justice announced in January 2024 that it had reached approx. $500,000 settlement With Cuomo’s executive office regarding one of the claims. However, no criminal charges were brought against Cuomo, with some prosecutors citing insufficient evidence.

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Cuomo defended himself against Mamdani’s accusations, noting that the charges were eventually dropped, before returning to questions about Mamdani’s alleged past.

Meanwhile, Sliwa didn’t miss an opportunity to criticize Cuomo over the sexual assault allegations either, saying early in the debate during a discussion on homelessness that Cuomo had “escaped” from the governor’s office amid an impeachment inquiry that was investigating him.

“Andrew, you didn’t leave.” You escaped impeachment by Democrats in the state legislature,” Saliwa began before delving into the issue of homelessness, earning him a standing ovation from the audience.

“‘Leaves?’ I ran away!” They continued to applaud. “But let’s get back to the topic.”