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Mario Cuomo Patched Things Up With Ed Koch For Andrew
By
Jen Chung
Published May 3, 2010
Modified May 3, 2010
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By
Jen Chung
Published May 3, 2010
Modified May 3, 2010
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The NY Times has a long feature on the relationship between former NY governor Mario Cuomo and presumptive 2010 gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo that includes quotes like "He’s thick skulled; he won’t listen to me. Tell him what to do" (supposedly what Mario told a consultant about Andrew) and "There was this sense of rivalry — Andrew seemed to feel that his dad talked a good game but that he, Andrew, got things done" (someone who worked under Andrew Cuomo at HUD). But what's interesting is how the 1977 mayoral campaign comes into play.
Back in 1977, Mario Cuomo was battling Ed Koch for the NYC mayorship, and there were nasty campaign posters saying "Vote For Cuomo, Not The Homo." When Andrew Cuomo was running for attorney general in 2006 (after his failed 2002 gubernatorial run and divorce from Kerry Kennedy), the NY Times reports, "Mario approached George Arzt, a former press secretary to Mr. Koch, at the Regency Hotel in New York and told him, “‘I’d like to patch things up with Ed,’ ” Mr. Arzt recalled. “I asked him what he had in mind. And he said, ‘Could Ed endorse Andrew?’" Which Koch did do.
Koch, for his part, told Esquire, "The signs said, VOTE FOR CUOMO, NOT THE HOMO. Andrew says he didn't do it, and I believe him. Mario says he thinks he now knows who did it. I was very angry at the time. Primary races always end in anger. They're different than the general election: They're like a civil war — it's brother against brother. But I've forgiven them. I'm eighty-five now, and grudges take your energy away. I've forgiven them all."
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andrew cuomo
attorney general
ed koch
Eleciton 2010
mario cuomo
Jen Chung
Jen Chung is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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