Cuomo Whistleblower on Zohran Mamdani’s Win: ‘We Will Force Change Whether Abusers Like It or Not’
“As a survivor, and a survivor directly impacted by Cuomo, this started out as one of the darkest periods of my life," Lindsey Boylan told Jezebel of Mamdani's incredible upset in Tuesday's NYC mayoral primary.
Photos: Getty Images Politics
It feels wild to write, but…a…good thing…happened. In…American politics??? I know, I know. *looks around suspiciously*
On Tuesday night, New York’s former governor and accused sex pest, Andrew Cuomo, conceded the NYC mayoral primary to (objectively hot) Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani. As multiple news outlets wrote this morning, Mamdani’s win was “astonishing,” amounts to a “political earthquake,” and has “remade American politics.”
“Tonight we made history,” Mamdani, who was polling near 0 percent when he entered the race in October, said during his victory speech. If he wins in November, the 33-year-old will become NYC’s first South Asian and first Muslim mayor.
But in addition to upending the political landscape, Mamdani’s stunning upset also represents a big win for survivors.
“As a survivor, and a survivor directly impacted by Cuomo, this started out as one of the darkest periods of my life,” Lindsey Boylan, the first woman to accuse the former governor of sexual harassment, told Jezebel. “It has now become one of the most empowering ones, and that has everything to do with survivors fighting alongside me for change.”
Boylan worked for the Cuomo administration from March 2015 to October 2018, first serving as Chief of Staff for Empire State Development before being promoted to Deputy Secretary for Economic Development and Special Adviser in 2018. In December 2020, she accused the former governor of sexual harassment in a series of tweets, saying it’d been happening “for years.” She followed that up with a detailed essay in February 2021, revealing that other women had since confided in her that they, too, had been harassed by Cuomo.
“Zohran’s inspiring primary win is a sea change for New York that is so necessary right now,” Boylan added about Mamdani’s win. “It happened because people power beat out massive special interest spending and corrupt machine politics. I cannot wait to be a part of this movement he is leading.”
Technically, neither Mamdani nor Cuomo has surpassed 50% of the vote tally, which is the threshold required for NYC’s ranked-choice elections. But, as of Wednesday morning, according to the New York Times, Cuomo trails Mamdani by 7% with 93% of votes tallied. “Tonight is his night,” Cuomo said in his concession speech. “He deserved it. He won.”
Cuomo, who had a $25 million super-PAC behind him, was leading the polls as recently as last week, and has said he might consider running as an independent in November. But he barely campaigned this time, instead appearing to trust that his name recognition was all good name recognition. In a New York Magazine profile in March, he also said he didn’t even know who most of the women who accused him were and seemed to suggest that they were all anonymous. (They were not.)
“Our names are not obscenities, Boylan said. “They are powerful and we will force change whether abusers like it or not.”
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