Leadership in a Pandemic – Lessons From Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Mark Cuomo was born in Queens, New York City in 1957 to the former New York State Governor, Mario Cuomo, and his mother Matilda Raffa Cuomo.
Cuomo’s political rise can be traced to when he served as campaign manager for his father’s campaign to become the 52nd governor of New York. He went on to pursue a career in law, serving as the assistant district attorney of Manhattan in 1984, later working as a partner in a law firm, and then working in public service at the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development
He first attempted to run for the New York governorship seat in 2002 but withdrew to run for the Attorney General spot in 2006, a campaign which he easily won. As the New York Attorney General, he won praise for addressing corruption, and then launched another run for the governorship seat, which he won, assuming office as the 56th governor of New York on January 11, 2011.
He was reelected in 2014 and was also voted back into power for a third term in 2018, which is highly indicative of public trust and acceptance of his driven and decisive leadership. In his terms as governor, Cuomo has focused on LGBTQ rights, civil rights, and criminal justice reform, gun safety, women equality, and economic improvement, and has taken bold stands on controversial issues such as his ban on hydraulic fracturing within the state of New York, and the passage of the Reproductive Health Bill.
Since March 2020. Andrew Cuomo has risen to the national, and even global spotlight for his swift and decisive response to the coronavirus outbreak in New York City. From the initial patient in the month of March, New York City soon became the epicentre of the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S, currently recording cases in upwards of 400,000, and over 31,000 deaths.
When the COVID-19 outbreak began in New York, Cuomo responded by securing an initial $40 million from the Legislature to contain the pandemic in the city. He also supported the fight against the pandemic by issuing orders requiring that face masks be worn in public and reinforced the need for social distancing and other preventive measures through daily fact-filled briefings on the pandemic.
Many have described Cuomo’s daily COVID-19 briefings as passing across the urgent need to flatten the curve in a reassuring, assertive, yet calming manner. In one of his briefings, he addressed the fear and uncertainty caused by the virus in a speech where he said:
“It’s a hard time. It is a hard time on every level. It is a frightening time on every level. At the same time. It is this much time. It is this much time. Is it three months? Is it six months? Is it nine months? I don’t know. But it’s this much time. We will get through this much time.”
With his executive authority, he closed down schools, and non-essential services like Broadway, communicating with honesty and forthrightness with New York citizens. Cuomo focuses on the need to have information citizens can readily understand, saying that,
“Worse than the virus is the fear we are dealing with.”
Governor Andrew Cuomo is also related to CNN news anchor, Chris Cuomo (his younger brother) who supported the fight against COVID-19 in his unique way. After contracting the virus in March, Chris continued his CNN show while self-isolating in the basement of his house, and resumed his job at CNN after successfully defeating the virus. On the occasions when Chris has to interview his brother the Governor, they frequently banter about which of them is their mother’s favourite child.
Even though the pandemic is taking a steep toll on New York, Andrew Cuomo has received praise for his strong and decisive leadership.
