Voters Shrug Off Allegations Against Cuomo

Allegations that Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s administration meddled with an anti-corruption commission are being met with a shrug from many voters, a reaction that appears unlikely to alter his odds of winning re-election by a large margin or dampen his White House ambitions.

In the absence of new revelations, Cuomo looks positioned to survive the greatest political crisis of his tenure as governor thus far with most, if not all, of his commanding advantage over his Republican challenger intact.

A Marist College survey released Tuesday found that 54 percent of those surveyed support Cuomo, a Democrat, compared with 23 percent for Republican candidate Rob Astorino, the executive of suburban Westchester County. A poll last month put Cuomo’s lead at 59-24 percent.

“The political storm is taking a toll, but [Cuomo] has managed to keep the fallout at arm’s length where his re-election is concerned,” said Lee Miringoff, director of Marist’s Institute for Public Opinion.

Cuomo has been dogged by questions about his handling of the anti-corruption panel he created last year and abruptly dismantled this spring. A top aide pressured the commission not to investigate groups with ties to the governor.

U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara of Manhattan took over the commission’s work and last week threatened to investigate Cuomo’s office for obstruction and witness tampering for allegedly calling and encouraging commission members to speak out publicly on Cuomo’s behalf. The Albany Times Union on Tuesday identified the caller as Joe Percoco.

Yet 71 percent said they view the allegations as either a minor factor in their voting decision or no factor at all.

Possible reasons: The allegations hit during the summer, when most voters aren’t paying attention to politics. And to a public inured to political shenanigans in Albany, the allegations concerning a little-known government commission may not inspire much outrage.

Compare the accusations to the New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s bridge scandal, which was immediately relevant to anyone who has ever sat in traffic.

“People in general have a very low opinion of politicians, so when you have these ethics issues people will say, ‘Well, what do you expect?’” said Ester Fuchs, a political science professor at Columbia University. “Are they worried at the Cuomo camp? Of course. There’s a U.S. attorney going after them. But I would bet that Andrew Cuomo can figure out how to put this behind him.”

This article appeared in print on page 10 of the August 7th, 2014 edition of Hamodia.