When it comes to a political dynasty from New York, the Roosevelt family are by far the most famous. Yet, New York has another powerful political dynasty: the Cuomo family.
Though they may not have risen to the same heights the Roosevelts did, the Cuomos are a force to be reckoned with, especially within the state of New York.
Interestingly, the story of the Cuomo family, and that of other political families like the Kennedys, Roosevelts and Bushes are all quite similar… even if they’re separated by their country of origin and a few centuries of history.
Origins And a New Start in America
Though the family lineage goes back a couple of hundred years further, the first Cuomo family ancestor of any real significance is Andrea Cuomo.
Born on November 3 1901 in the city of Nocera Inferiore, Province of Salerno, Campania, Italy, Andrea followed the waves of Italian immigrants who’d been leaving Italy for the US in the hopes of a better life.
Leaving his home country in 1926, at the age of 25, Andrea (as with many Italians) arrived in the northeastern USA and set about starting a new life.
Prior to leaving his home country, Andrea had met and fell in love with Immacolata Giordano, a woman who’d been born in the nearby town of Tramonti, Campania. The couple later married before Andrea moved to the US.
You see, both Immacolata and Andrea came from poor families and couldn’t afford to go to the US together. As such, Andrea went to the US first, to establish a home and begin earning an income to eventually bring his wife over.
Within a year of being in the US, Andrea had enough money to bring his wife to the US, and did so quickly in 1927.
Originally settling in Jersey City, New Jersey, the couple had there first three children there – calling them Frank, Marie and Mario. However, disaster stuck the family when Mario died in infancy.
Grieving the loss of their son, the family was unable to stay in Jersey City due to the reminders of their now-dead son, and moved to the Briarwood neighborhood of Queens and ran Kessler’s Grocery Store in South Jamaica, Queens.
It was here where the couple’s fourth and final, Mario, was born on June 13 1932 – a year and a week to the day, after the death of his older brother and namesake.
Enter Mario Cuomo
Growing up, Mario excelled at sports – particularly baseball – and set out to become a professional baseball player. Eventually he was signed to the Pittsburgh Pirates as an outfielder and was loaned out to the Pirates’ Georgia-based farm team, the Brunswick Pirates.
And Mario’s life seemed set: his teammates included Fred Green, a future major leaguer, and he had a batting average of 0.244. Yet this all came crashing down when Cuomo was struck on the back of the head by a pitch and was blind for a week.
Due to the nature of his injury, Mario was unable to play professional baseball again, with him instead enrolling in St. John’s University and graduated summa cum laude in 1953, before setting his sights on a law career.
Enrolling at St. John’s University School of Law, Mario graduated top in his class and clerked for a judge on the New Court of Appeals.
Not long after, Cuomo found employment at Brooklyn-based law firm Comer, Weisbrod, Froeb and Charles, but not after being rejected from 50 other law firms due to his Italian heritage (as there was deep-rooted distrust of Italians at the time).
Despite this, it didn’t stop Cuomo representing real estate mogul Fred Trump, the father of President Donald Trump.
Early Political Career
Through his lawyer connections, Cuomo became interested in local politics, representing several home owners groups who were being displaced as their low-income housing was to be demolished for upper-middle-class housing they couldn’t afford.
In 1974, Mario ran for Lieutenant Governor in the 1974 New York Gubernatorial Election, alongside Howard J. Samuels.
Though popular, the party chose to elect Rep. Hugh Carey of Brooklyn (Governor) and State Senator Mary Anne Krupsak (Lieutenant Governor), who ultimately won the election, becoming the first Democrats to win Albany in 16 years.
Despite having been on the losing side of the partywide election, Governor-elect Carey was well aware of Mario Cuomo’s brilliance as a lawyer and brought him onboard as the 57th Secretary of State of New York in December 1974.
Serving as Secretary of State, Cuomo became famous across New York as a champion of the “Little man”, often swaying Carey’s views on things that would affect the lives of New York’s poorest families – such as his own when he was a kid.
Two years later, in 1977, at Carey’s urging, Cuomo ran for the Mayor of New York, facing off against fellow Democrat Ed Koch.
Sadly, Cuomo’s campaign was a comedy of errors.
An opponent of the death penalty, Cuomo ran on this thinking this would attract voters, However, what Cuomo failed to realize was that crime in new York was on the rise and New Yorkers were looking for a candidate who was strong against crime.
To most New Yorkers, Cuomo’s idea of banning the death penalty didn’t seem logical.
Other blunders included running peculiar attack ads likening Koch to unpopular former Mayor John Lindsay, which resulted in being labelled as an anti-Semite by Koch and his supporters.
Another blunder was the pro-Cuomo slogan of “Vote Cuomo, Not The Homo” which attacked Koch’s sexuality. Though not authorized by Cuomo’s campaign, this naturally turned many of Cuomo’s own party members against him.
Not surprisingly, Cuomo was never elected Mayor and remained as the Secretary of State.
In 1978, Carey’s Lieutenant Governor, Mary Anne Krupsak, declined to run for re-election. Having grown close during Cuomo’s tenure as Secretary of State, Carey asked Cuomo to run as his Lieutenant Governor with him.
With the Carey-Cuomo ticket winning the Democratic Party’s nomination, the pair began campaigning and ultimately won the election, despite Krupsak publicly calling out the Carey Administration for its perceived incompetence.
Governor of New York
Serving as Lieutenant Governor for four years, when the 1982 election rolled around, Governor Carey declined to run for re-election. Seeing his opportunity, and supported by Carey, Mario Cuomo became a gubernatorial candidate.
Once again facing off against Ed Koch, this time it was Koch’s campaign that was a comedy of errors.
Still a supporter of the death penalty, this time his support of it alienated many of his supporters, as did an interview he gave with Playboy, claiming that upstate new York was “sterile” and Albany (where the Governor lives) is “a city without a good Chinese”.
Not surprisingly, it was only New York City (where he had been Mayor) that voted for Koch, with everywhere else voting for Cuomo, who later won the party’s nomination and faced off against investment banker and businessman Lewis Lehrman.
Quickly winning the election against a relatively inexperienced Lehrman, Cuomo was sworn in as Governor on January 1 1983.
A three-time governor, Cuomo balanced the budget and was often cited as one of the most progressive governors in the Union thanks to enacting sweeping fiscal reforms during his second term.
His other accomplishments include: enacting the first state-mandated seat belt laws in the US (which have saved thousands of lives to date) and his “Rebuild NY” project which rebuilt many of New York’s roads and bridges.
Though he received his fair share of criticism for these projects – as any politician would – his policies increased New York’s GDP and increased New York’s presence globally (even more so than it was already).
Sadly, by the end of his third term, the global economy had began to wind down, which hit New York particularly hard and Cuomo was becoming increasingly unpopular and lost his 1994 re-election campaign in a landslide to Republican George Pataki.
After Walter Mondale’s 1984 landslide loss to Ronald Reagan, the Democrats began courting Cuomo for the nomination in 1988, although he was uninterested – just as he was four years later, in 1992.
Mathilda Cuomo’s Legacy
In 1951, Mario Cuomo met Mathilda Raffa (born Mattia Raffa), a fellow Italian-American whose parents had immigrated to the US in 1927, whilst both were studying at St John’s University.
Falling in love, the pair began dating (then known as courting) and married in 1954. Finding work as a teacher, Mathilda supported her husband through law school, Mathilda was by her husband’s side throughout his political career.
First the Second Lady and later the First Lady of New York, Mathilda was an advocate for women, children and families, focusing particularly on low-income families and at-risk children.
Using her position, Mathilda created initiatives to find long-term housing for foster children, to mentor at-risk children (to prevent them falling into the criminal justice system) and promote education, nutrition and immunization programs.
In 1984, Cuomo founded, and later served as the chair of, the New York State Mentoring Program, whose stated goal was to provide one-on-one mentoring for at-risk children and young adults.
At its height, the program had over 10,000 enrollees and survived after Mathilda’s husband left office (although not for long).
Though discontinued in 1995, the program was reinstated in 2015 when her son, Andrew, was Governor and has remained in effect ever since.
Enter Andrew Cuomo
Together, the couple had five children, the second eldest of whom was named Andrew. Growing up he idolized his father and dreamed of becoming a politician like his father, similarly becoming a lawyer like him.
Already an adult when his father ran for governor, Andrew served as his father’s campaign manager and later served as a policy adviser during his father’s premiership.
After a year as the New York assistant district attorney, and later a brief stint as a lawyer at Blutrich, Falcone & Miller, Cuomo was later appointed as the assistant secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in 1993 during the Clinton Administration.
Yet when his boss, Henry Cisneros, resigned as HUD secretary in January 1997, Cuomo was unanimously elected as his successor by the Senate, where he soon gained a reputation of always “fighting for the little guy” as his father had years previously.
When the Clinton Administration came to an end in 2001, Cuomo was replaced as HUD secretary much like the rest of Clinton’s cabinet was. Now effectively out of work, Cuomo decided to run for Governor of New York during the 2002 election.
Much like his father’s first run for governor so many years before, Andrew Cuomo’s campaign was a comedy of errors, with him making several gaffes that lost him votes and ultimately led to him withdrawing from the race on the eve of the state convention.
In 2006, Cuomo was elected New York Attorney General and gained notoriety for his crusade against online child pornography, his fraud and corruption investigations and his 2007 inquiry into the relationship between student loan providers and universities.
All of this made him a rather popular figure in Albany, by some estimates even more so than the then-Governor David Paterson!
Governor of New York
In September 2009, President Obama informed Governor Paterson (via his advisers) that he believed the governor should withdraw his candidacy for the 2010 gubernatorial election in New York to make way for the more popular Andrew Cuomo.
Understanding that this was best for New York (Paterson was facing allegations of witness tampering, soliciting improper gifts and perjury at the time) Governor Paterson withdrew his candidacy, allowing Andrew Cuomo to run in his place.
Running against Buffalo-based businessman Carl Paladino, Cuomo won in a landslide and was inaugurated on January 1 2011. He subsequently won re-election in 2014 and 2018.
As Governor, Andrew Cuomo continued his father’s legacy of always thinking about the least fortunate members of society. Families like the ones his parents and grandparents grew up in.
Socially liberal in almost all matters, Cuomo’s three terms as governor saw New York legalize marijuana and gay marriage and pass gun control legislation designed to prevent another Sandy Hook.
A reformer, Cuomo also completely reformed the New York State tax code, criminal justice system and voting rights for parolees. He has also taken a green approach to the environment and has been a vocal supporter of women’s rights and abortion.
Yet, Cuomo also understood the need to not go overboard. Understanding that New York had gotten to where it is today by being business-friendly, Cuomo passed legislation designed to attract businesses to New York.
However, this has only been mildly successful and has resulted in lot of criticism from both the left and the right.
Tarnished Legacy
Despite both he and his father making great headway during their time terms as governor, recent years have seen the family name be tarnished somewhat, mostly due to Andrew Cuomo.
For years, Cuomo had faced criticism for increasing New York’s debt to new heights. Just before Cuomo’s first term as Governor, New York’s state debt sat at $122.65 billion, whilst at the end of his third term, it sat at $154.84 billion.
In other words, during his tenure as governor, New York’s state debt has increased by $32.19 billion, or a little less than 21% – something almost unheard of in New York state history, which angered not only the Republicans, but also some members of his own party.
Despite this being a pinch point, Cuomo’s debt problem is only a footnote in the Cuomo family’s somewhat tarnished legacy. Indeed, it’s not even one issue: it’s two.
The first is Cuomo’s handling of the Coronavirus pandemic. Much like other major cities, New York was hit particularly bad in March 2020 and Cuomo was initially praised for his handling of the pandemic, enforcing lockdowns and bringing in the military for help.
But then we discovered something else…
On February 11 2021, the New York Post published an exposé revealing that COVID deaths in New York nursing homes were being underreported by as much as 50% by the Governor, to protect nursing home executives who were donors to his campaign.
Naturally, with this revelation, the New York Attorney General, Letitia James, has ordered an investigation into the scandal, as have the FBI.
The second is his sexual assaults allegations. In December 2020, a woman came forward claiming Cuomo had sexually assaulted her whilst she worked as an aide for his 2021 Borough Presidential campaign. This convinced other women to also come forward.
After four women had come forward, Letitia James ordered a full investigation into the allegations. With this, even more women came forward and Cuomo was under mounting pressure to resign. Yet he refused, claiming he was innocent.
When the Attorney General published a report that proved he’d sexually assaulted 11 women during his time as governor on August 3 2021, Cuomo was under even more pressure to resign, which he ultimately did on August 10.
Sadly, many believe that this has tainted the Cuomo family name, erasing two generations of public service in an instant.
Chris Cuomo
Though Andrew Cuomo may be the most famous of Mario and Mathilda Cuomo’s children, he is by no means their only child. In fact, the couple have five children, the youngest of whom is CNN anchor Chris Cuomo.
Graduating Yale with an undergraduate degree, and later Fordham University School of Law, Chris became a lawyer like his older brother and father before him.
However, he didn’t go into law or politics as his brother and father had done, he got into the media. A journalist for CNBC, MSNBC and later CNN, Chris later became a political analyst for Fox News.
Moving to ABC, Chris became the co-anchor of 20/20 and later served as the news anchor for Good Morning America between September 2006 and December 2009, covering dozens of breaking stories on-location.
Chris later returned to CNN to co-host its morning show before becoming the co-anchor of New Day, where it was announced in March 2018 that Chris would host his own prime time segment, Cuomo Prime Time, which he’s done ever since!
For his efforts, Chris has been awarded six Emmys and in 1997, was named one of People magazine’s “50 Sexiest People”.
Interestingly, despite being the son of one longtime New York Governor, and the brother of another, Chris has refused to cover either his father’s (in something like a retrospective) or his brother’s gubernatorial careers, citing an obvious conflict of interest.
Margaret Cuomo
Another of Mario and Mathilda Cuomo’s children have similarly made a name for themselves independent of their political in-laws. That is the couple’s eldest child, Margaret.
A well-respected physician and radiologist, Margaret has spent much of her career practicing at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, where she has specialized in body imaging (MRI, ultrasound, CT etc.)
Through this, Margaret has become one of the leading experts on the diagnosis of cancer and AIDS, primarily the former, and has written a book about it, A World Without Cancer: The Making of a New World and the Real Promise of Prevention.
Aside from publishing her book on the matter, Margaret regularly contributes articles to blogs, newspapers and magazines, having been published in publications the likes of HuffPost and WebMD among others.
Just as with the other members of the Cuomo family, Margaret is quite proud of her Italian heritage and is a keen speaker of the language.
Partnering with her mother and her friend, Louis A. Tallarini, the trio founded The Italian League Foundation, whose primary goal is to see Italian be taught in US schools, in the same way that other languages like French and Spanish are.
Cuomo Family Today
Today, all five of the Cuomo siblings have children of their own, who are in their late teens to early thirties.
Though none of them have shown any interest in politics yet, there is serious debate about a third generation of the Cuomo family trying to become governor.
Whilst an interesting “What if?” scenario, it is merely hypothetical and may never happen, especially given that Andrew Cuomo has lost much of the support among his own party, let alone voters… something that may carry over to other members of the family.
Interestingly, however, between 1990 and 2005, Andrew Cuomo was married to Kerry Kennedy, a daughter of Robert and Ethel Kennedy, and a thus member of the Kennedy family by birth and a member of the Cuomo family by marriage.
Together, the couple had three daughters, who all bear the surname “Kennedy-Cuomo”. The couple’s first two daughters were twins: Mariah and Cara (born January 11 1995) whilst their third, Michaela, was born on August 26 1997.
Although none of them have shown any desire to run for political office, if they ever did, they’d be backed by both their Kennedy and Cuomo family in-laws.
Despite the marriage ending in a divorce, the marriage actually strengthened both families politically, winning the Cuomo family the votes of many Irish Americans, and the Kennedys the votes of the remaining Italian-Americans.
This was evident when the marriage happened, with many likening it to Sargent Shriver’s marriage to Ethel Kennedy. Yes, it was for love, but it was also a political marriage, strengthening their standing with Catholics (Shriver was a German Catholic).
Aside from Andrew Cuomo’s children, each of his siblings have children of their own, who, if they wanted to, could potentially run for office and bank on their politically powerful relatives and in-laws and stand a good chance at winning!
Legacy
Regardless of what may (or indeed, may not) happen in the future regarding the Cuomo family, they will likely always be remembered for firmly being on the left of the Democratic Party.
Having come from essentially nothing, Mario Cuomo became popular for his left-leaning populist policies, both socially and fiscally speaking.
And this seems to have rubbed off on his son, Andrew, who despite having grown up in relative luxury (compared to his father) is quite left-leaning compared to many of his fellow Democrats, continuing the legacy left by his father.
Although, in some ways he is a little more right-wing than his father – albeit not by a great deal.
The Cuomo family also hold the distinction of abolishing the death penalty in New York. Abolished during Mario Cuomo’s tenure as governor, it was reinstated during George E. Pataki’s tenure though was never used.
In 2004, it was declared unconstitutional by the New York Court of Appeals and hasn’t been overturned since.
The Cuomo family also hold the distinction of being one of the few Catholic political dynasties to openly contradict the church.
A devout Catholic, Mario Cuomo was personally opposed to abortion in line with the church’s teachings, but politically was pro-choice on the issue, arguing the state didn’t have a right to ban it. For his efforts, the church considered excommunicating him.
Yet this didn’t deter him, and ultimately, he was never excommunicated. Much like his father, Andrew Cuomo was one of the most vocal pro-choice politicians in New York during his time as governor.
Thanks to the positions they’ve held, several things have been in honor of various members of the Cuomo family, predominantly Mario and Andrew Cuomo.
For Mario, his son Andrew saw that the Tappan Zee Bridge in New York (constructed in 2017) was official called the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, even if most people refer to it as simply the Tappan Zee Bridge.
For Andrew, his time as governor saw New York State ban magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammo. Due to this, a new type of 3d printed AR 15 magazine capable of holding 30 rounds was created and dubbed the “Cuomo Mag”.
What do you think of the Cuomo family? Tell me in the comments!
Featured image courtesy of Diana Robinson via Flickr.