Cuomo lays out his case for a third term

COLONIE, N.Y. _ Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo wants his re-election bid to be judged on the economy, progress on social justice issues and public construction projects initiated during his two terms in office.

"Are there other things that we need to do? Yes. Are there things I would have liked to do, but I couldn't get done? Yes," Cuomo told the Times Union editorial board on Tuesday. "But have we moved the ball ahead remarkably? Yes."

In a wide-ranging 76-minute conversation, Cuomo delved into his "unprecedented" commitment to upstate's economic fortunes and his opposition to President Donald J. Trump's policies. The governor also answered questions about corruption in his administration, a federal probe into one of his donors and unfulfilled pledges.

Cuomo did not mention Cynthia Nixon, his opponent in the Sept. 13 Democratic primary, or Marc Molinaro, the Republican gubernatorial nominee.

The governor touted $36 billion in spending on economic development projects for upstate New York, including $92 million to modernize the Albany International Airport. "I brought an unprecedented focus to upstate New York," he said.

Cuomo argued the investment has paid off, pointing to unemployment rates of 4.3 percent for upstate, which is down from 7.9 percent in June 2010. During the same period, the national unemployment rate dropped from 9.5 percent to 3.9 percent.

He asserted that no other state has matched New York's ambitious social agenda, including the legalization of same-sex marriage, a paid family leave program, minimum wage increases, aggressive renewable energy standards and a more progressive income tax structure.

"We're passing more laws that are actually of national significance, not just traffic-light laws," Cuomo said.

He also highlighted the creation of an outside ethics body and financial disclosure requirements, while acknowledging unfinished work in the realms of transparency, campaign finance and curbing outside income for elected officials.

He said these were "thorny legislative issues" and predicted that a Democratic majority in the state Senate would help advance stalled priorities _ with the caveat that campaign promises from those in the minority conference were often at odds with actions made after they win the majority. State legislators blamed the governor's surrogates for torpedoing a potential pay increase in 2016, and his Democratic allies in the state Assembly blocked economic development transparency reforms during the past legislative session.

In November 2016, following the arrest of then-SUNY Polytechnic Institute President Alain Kaloyeros on bid-rigging charges, Cuomo pledged to take unilateral steps to eliminate conflicts of interest in the state procurement process, including ordering his campaign to stop taking donations from companies seeking state contracts through the request for proposal (RFP) process.

Asked about the pledge on Tuesday, Cuomo said, "I don't even remember the issue, to tell you the truth."

He took a measure of responsibility for his administration's high-profile corruption scandals, which resulted in the felony convictions of his former close aide Joe Percoco and Kaloyeros, as well as several development executives who donated to his campaigns.

"The buck stops on my desk," he said, while discounting the idea that the situations reflected poorly on his judgment.

Referring to Kaloyeros, he said, "I still don't even understand what happened there. I mean, nobody says he put a dollar in his pocket, right? There's no enrichment to him, but they proved that there was tampering with an RFP."

Cuomo rejected the idea that he allowed consultant Todd Howe, who pleaded guilty to corruption charges and became a federal witness, to have access to top-level staff in his administration. The governor maintained that Howe's access stemmed from past working relationships.

"Todd Howe is irrelevant to me. Todd Howe was on the periphery. Todd Howe never worked for me here," Cuomo said.

The governor held up the 2013 SAFE Act, legislation enacted in response to the massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School, as a model for what comprehensive gun control should look like.

Despite objections at the time and criticisms since it was enacted, Cuomo said New Yorkers retained their Second Amendment rights and the state was still able to ban assault weapons, limit magazine capacities and create a mental health database that now has 77,000 people.

"I was right," he said.

When pressed on a deal struck in 2015 by his administration with Senate Republicans to stymie the creation of an ammunition database authorized by the legislation, the governor maintained it wasn't "a significant aspect of the SAFE Act."

David.Lombardo(at)timesunion.com - 518-454-5427 - Twitter: (at)poozer87