“It’s creepy. I mean seriously,” said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. ‘You just meet the person, and I don’t care who you are, I don’t think that’s what you should do. Is it illegal? It’s not illegal. It’s just creepy,” the fellow democrat added.
That’s partly how Poloncarz responded to questions about Governor Cuomo’s alleged actions described by now three different women accusing the governor of sexual harassment.
Poloncarz said he’s seen the governor be handsy at events in the past, and according to Poloncarz, sometimes it was well received.
Poloncarz is not one of the growing number calling for Cuomo’s resignation.
The New York Working Families Party, who supported Cuomo in all three gubernatorial races tweeted “Governor Cuomo’s reign of fear, harassment and intimidation cannot continue. We are calling on the Governor to resign immediately because he is unfit to serve the people of New York.”
New York State Young Democrats is also calling for his resignation. In a statement the committee said—“We believe the survivors and trust that the AG's investigation will substantiate the claims that have been made. Because of this, and in light of this demonstrated pattern of behavior, we call on the governor to resign immediately.”
That’s in contrast to Cuomo’s longtime ally, New York Democratic Committee Chairman Jay Jacobs who’s asking democrats to reserve judgement. His statement reads in part— “it is both premature and unfair for anyone to opine on the outcome until that investigation is completed and the results reported.”
Cuomo hasn’t made a public appearance since nearly a week ago on February 24.
“The fact that they keep coming doesn’t really surprise me that the governor and his team are taking some time to figure out where things stand,” said Political Strategist Jack O’Donnell.
Meantime, the New York Attorney General has yet to announce who will handle the independent investigation. It’s also unclear how long the investigation will take. Poloncarz said we must now let it play out, although he added he would never behave the way the governor stands accused of.
“They’re not just inappropriate, I’d never think about saying that to my employees. I don’t even think about saying that to some of my friends,” Poloncarz said.
