Governor Andrew Cuomo campaigned energetically today, with four New York City rallies. At events in the South Bronx, Central Harlem and East Harlem*, Cuomo touted his record, aggressively attacked Republican opponent Rob Astorino and urged his supporters to turn out on election day. Cuomo twice spoke separately with the press, in the South Bronx and East Harlem.
During the South Bronx rally Puerto Rico Governor Alejandro Garcia-Padilla made an amusing reference to wardrobe planning confusion which resulted in Governor Cuomo appearing in a navy blazer and Governor Garcia-Padilla in a leather jacket. Both gaggles began with a reference to that moment.
South Bronx:
Question topics at a post-rally gaggle included whether Governor Cuomo is confident that his margin of victory will come from black and latino neighborhoods, his reaction to a recent National Transportation Safety Board report that harshly criticized the MTA, whether the 1st offense penalty in the newly-effective driving-while-texting law is too harsh, the principal of a bio-hazard cleanup company sued by then-Attorney General Cuomo, the necessity of political fundraising, his recent reference to the Working Families Party as a “fringe party” and whether he has any advice for the Governor of Puerto Rico concerning marriage equality.
East Harlem:
Question topics included whether there are similarities between past defenses of states banning interracial marriage and current defenses of states banning same-sex marriages, his reaction to NYPD Chief of Department Philip Banks’s resignation, whether campaign contribution limits are too high and what Cuomo intends to seek as campaign finance reforms if reelected, whether he’s going to the Somo el Futuro conference in Puerto Rico next week, whether he’s worried that “minorities” will not turn out on election day and how his recent references to recent New York Republicans as being “moderates” reconciles with his past statements about “ultraconservatives” in the state senate.
Update – Cuomo Speeches:
Here are Cuomo’s speeches.
South Bronx:
Abyssinian Baptist Church:
East Harlem:
* Cuomo had a fourth rally, in Bushwick, that I did not attend and which is therefor not part of this report.