Paterson: Cuomo admitted he’d rather be governor than mayor

As rumors continue to swirl about the prospect of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo running for mayor of New York City, former Gov. David Paterson told City & State that Cuomo recently agreed that it would make more sense to seek his old office. 

Paterson, who like current Gov. Kathy Hochul ascended from the lieutenant governor position following a gubernatorial resignation, said that he got lunch with Cuomo roughly three months ago, during which Cuomo talked about a prospective return to public office. “I said, ‘Andrew. You haven’t been out of office that long,’” Paterson recalled. “‘You don’t want to be mayor. You want to be governor.’” Paterson’s reasoning: it’s easier to hide from nosy press in Albany than in City Hall. “‘You did it, so you know you’d rather be governor,’” he said he told Cuomo, who seemed to agree. “And (Cuomo) admitted, ‘Yeah, I’d rather be governor.’ However, he’ll take mayor.”

Ever since Cuomo resigned in 2021 amid allegations of sexual harassment, rumors have swirled about what the next political move for Cuomo would be. Speculation that he is eyeing Gracie Mansion has increased greatly in recent weeks and months, particularly amid a continuous string of news regarding numerous investigations into and around the administration of Mayor Eric Adams. Most recently, the New York Post reported that allies of Cuomo are “spreading the word” that he’s interested in running for mayor.

Paterson said that Cuomo doesn’t even need folks to float his name. “He would be the most experienced person of all those who want to challenge Mayor Adams,” Paterson said. “I don’t think he would get in the race if Mayor Adams is still there, but if Mayor Adams is forced to leave, I think about five minutes later, we would be hearing from the former governor.” 

Adams has not been directly implicated in any of the investigations into and related to his administration, and the mayor’s top aides who have been the subject of federal law enforcement searches have not yet been accused of wrongdoing. However, New York City Police Commissioner Edward Caban resigned amid the investigation into alleged influence peddling involving his twin brother, and City Hall’s top lawyer stepped down from her post over the weekend. And a growing number of people have begun to call on Adams himself to resign.

Hochul seems to be under the impression that Cuomo isn’t planning to challenge her either. She recently told Cindy Adams, the New York Post gossip columnist, that she expects the former governor will run for mayor.

According to a December poll from Slingshot Strategies, Cuomo was the favorite in a hypothetical ranked-choice special election in the event that Adams resigns. It included a wide variety of candidates, some of whom have since officially announced that they are running or exploring running for mayor. The former governor also paid for polling in January, according to campaign finance records. And while he has not been registered to vote in New York City for quite some time, the Westchester home of his sister where he was most recently registered is for sale. So it could be the perfect time to make his primary residence somewhere in the city once again.

If Cuomo does decide to run, he would join an already crowded field of candidates. Former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, current Comptroller Brad Lander and state Sens. Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie have launched campaigns for the position, and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani is considering launching a bid as well.

In a statement, Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi said that the former governor currently has no plans to run for office again. “The governor previously said he has no plans to make plans and nothing has changed,” Azzopardi said.