ROCHESTER, New York: A former aide to Governor Andrew Cuomo said he asked her if she had a boyfriend, called her love, touched her lower back at a reception and once kissed her his hand when he got up from the desk.
Ana Liss, now 35, was Mr. Cuomo’s policy and operations assistant between 2013 and 2015. She said Mr. Cuomo’s actions were unsolicited and occurred in the first year while she was sitting. at his desk, near his office in the executive chamber of the New York State Capitol in Albany.
In an interview with the Wall Street Journal, Ms. Liss said she initially perceived Mr. Cuomo’s behavior as harmless flirting. Over time, she said, she has come to see it as condescending and added that it has made her move from an educated professional to “just a skirt”.
“It’s not appropriate, really, in any environment,” he said.
In response to questions about Ms Liss, Rich Azzopardi, Mr Cuomo’s senior adviser, said on Saturday: “Reporters and photographers have covered the governor for 14 years watching him kiss men and women and pose for photographs. At the public reception of the open-door mansion, there are hundreds of people, and he poses for hundreds of photographs. That’s what people in politics do. “
In his last public appearance on Wednesday, Mr. Cuomo said that behavior was common to him.
“I understand that sensibilities have changed and behavior has changed, and I understand that. And I will learn from it, ”he said.
Ana Liss shows a pin she earned while working in the governor’s office.
Photo:
libby march for The Wall Street Journal
Mrs. Liss is the third former aide to accuse Mr. Cuomo of misconduct in the workplace. The other two former aides have said he sexually harassed them. Mr. Cuomo has apologized for disturbing people. He has said he never touched anyone inappropriately.
“It was involuntary, and I really and truly apologize,” he said Wednesday. “I feel horrible and frankly it embarrasses me.”
Ms Liss and other current and former administration officials said the governor regularly asked them about their married life, touched them and commented on their physical appearance. Longtime officials told some women they had to wear high heels when the governor was in Albany, according to Mrs Liss and other former officials. Azzopardi said no one was required to wear high heels.
The Journal spoke to more than 30 officials who work or have worked for Mr. Cuomo during his ten years as governor. All of these officials, who include current and former heads of agencies, described a high-pressure environment where seven-day work weeks were common.
Several people described the work environment as toxic. Many former officials remembered the governor’s actions more fondly. Once on Valentine’s Day, Mr. Cuomo had roses delivered to the women employees, they said. Two women who received the flowers said they appreciated the gesture.
When asked about criticism of working conditions, Mr Azzopardi said: “People in this state chose the governor to represent him four times in the last 14 years and they know he works day and night to they. There are no secrets, these are difficult jobs and the work is demanding, but we have a first-class team with many employees who have been here for years and many others who have left and returned ”.
A former aide, Charlotte Bennett, 25, recently said Mr. Cuomo asked her about her sex life and whether she had sex with older men.
Another former adviser, Lindsey Boylan, said in a Feb. 24 media release that Mr. Cuomo tried to kiss her on the lips of his office and, during a 2017 flight on his plane, suggested they play poker. . A spokeswoman for Mr Cuomo has said Mrs Boylan’s allegations are false.
The governor faces growing pressure on the charges, as well as on how the state handled the Covid-19 in the residences. State Attorney General Letitia James oversees an investigation into Mses’ allegations. Bennett and Boylan. Federal prosecutors are interested in how the governor’s top advisers lobbied to modify a Department of Health report to include fewer deaths at those facilities, people familiar with the matter said.
Republicans and a growing number of Democrats have called for Mr. Cuomo’s resignation or removal, but senior lawmakers in the Democratic state are resisting until Ms. James’ review is complete.
Ms Liss said she decided to show up after Mses. Bennett and Boylan accused Mr. Cuomo of sexual harassment. Ms Liss said the governor’s response to her accusations has been inadequate.
Ms. Liss won a competitive scholarship in 2013 and joined Mr. Cuomo’s team to work on economic development programs. He already had a master’s degree from the University of Pennsylvania and had been working for a business development company in Rochester. She said she was proud of her role in the executive chamber, but was dismayed that the governor never asked her about her job, focusing on personal issues or her appearance.
Ana Liss keeps in her office a framed photograph of herself and Governor Andrew Cuomo, taken at a 2014 reception, showing her arm around her waist.
Photo:
Libby March for the Wall Street Journal
Ms. Liss recalled working at a May 6, 2014 reception at the Albany Executive Mansion, which is Mr. Cuomo’s official residence. Mr. Cuomo was in a living room on the north side of the first floor of the mansion and noticed Mrs. Liss, he recalled.
“He came up to me and said,‘ Hey, love! “, He said.
She said the governor hugged her, kissed her on both cheeks and then wrapped her arm around her lower back and grabbed her waist. They turned to a photographer, who took a photo showing Mr. Cuomo’s hand on his waist.
In the Medium publication, Ms. Boylan described a similar meeting with the governor at a January 6, 2016 event at Madison Square Garden. She said Mr Cuomo stopped talking to her after a speech and that her boss soon informed her that the governor was in love with her.
“It was an awkward but too familiar feeling: the struggle to take seriously a powerful man who tied my courage to my body and my appearance,” Ms. Boylan wrote.
Ms Liss said she never made any formal complaints about the behavior of the governor or anyone. He said he finally requested the transfer to another office.
Ms Liss said her experience working for the governor prompted her to start mental health counseling in 2014. She said she drank heavily that year and left the executive chamber in 2015 to take a place in the Cornell University as a corporate relations manager. . Ms. Liss now works as the director of the Monroe County Planning and Development Department in upstate New York.
The newspaper interviewed two other Empire State fellows who said they observed that Mrs. Liss drank heavily and skipped social engagements while working for the governor.
Peter Walke, a colleague who is now Vermont’s environmental conservation commissioner, said in a recent interview that he noticed that Mrs. Liss retired over time.
After the complaints of Mses. Boylan and Bennett, Mr. Walke contacted Mrs. Liss. She passed on her own experiences, Walke said.
Mrs Liss said she was proud of the work she had done during her stay in Albany and that she still kept in her office the photo of her and Mr Cuomo at the reception. She supports the policies she has enacted.
“I just wish, I would like to be taken seriously,” he said.
—Leslie Brody and Jim Oberman contributed to this article.
Write to Jimmy Vielkind to [email protected], Deanna Paul to [email protected] and Khadeeja Safdar to [email protected]
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