Backs Him for Attorney General: UFOA on Cuomo Bandwagon

Backs Him for Attorney General
UFOA on Cuomo Bandwagon

Former U.S. Housing Secretary Andrew Cuomo, the state Democratic Party's choice for Attorney General, added the Uniformed Fire Officers' Association to his list of political supporters June 14.

The Chief-Leader/Adrienne Haywood-James 'UNDERSTANDS OUR FIGHT': Uniformed Fire Officers' Association President Peter L. Gorman June 14 says his union is backing Andrew Cuomo (left) for State Attorney General because he 'absolutely understands that first-responder health issues can't be ignored and that the funding must be there for us.' Standing in front of the Engine 6 firehouse in lower Manhattan - believed to be the company where former Democratic Party head and Tammany Hall leader William Marcy Tweed once worked as a volunteer - UFOA President Peter L. Gorman and his executive board endorsed Mr. Cuomo's bid to succeed Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who is running for Governor.

'He'll Fight for Us'

"No other candidate in this race will fight for the health and safety of New York's first-responders like Andrew Cuomo will," said Mr. Gorman. "Andrew truly understands that when the Federal Government shirks its responsibility to safeguard the men and women who perform life-saving work for New York, the Attorney General must be there to fight for us."

After accepting a blue hat with FDNY emblazoned on the front, Mr. Cuomo pledged to go after the Bush Administration for failing "in its duty to protect [first-responders] in their time of sickness and need."

He chastised the Federal Government for slashing funds for New York's anti-terrorism initiatives, and for misleading city residents and workers through the Environmental Protection Agency that the air in lower Manhattan was safe to breathe after 9/11.

If elected, he said, he would ensure that the Bush Administration adequately funded a medical treatment program for 9/11 survivors, volunteers and firstresponders, as well as a comprehensive testing and clean-up plan to get rid of the World Trade Center dust that still lurks in many downtown buildings.

'I'll Defend Workers'

"First and foremost, I will be a defender of working people," Mr. Cuomo told the assemblage of reporters and firefighters. "The Federal Government has to learn that it can't pass the buck to New York, it can't pass the buck to the city, or to working-class families, and certainly not to first-responders."

He spoke at length about the need to protect workers' pension and health-care plans. As Attorney General, however, Mr. Cuomo might have to litigate on behalf of the state against the interests of public employees, as Mr. Spitzer did against Transport Workers' Union Local 100 following its three-day strike.

When asked how he could promise to protect municipal workers' pensions and still fulfill his duties to the state, he said that "as AG, I am there to do justice. I would not just defend a position that's frivolous or unjust."

Mr. Gorman later added that "we understand that the AG has to enforce the laws, and we're not asking for special treatment, because we're protected by many of those laws, too."

Joins 2 Cop Unions

The UFOA follows the Sergeants' Benevolent Association and the Detectives' Endowment Association in endorsing Mr. Cuomo. The SBA and DEA cited his strong stance on gun control and affordable housing initiatives while heading the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during the Clinton Administration as reasons for their backing.

Mr. Cuomo's status as the frontrunner in the AG race was acknowledged June 14 when Republican challenger Jeanine Pirro singled him out for a broadside of criticism. The former Westchester County District Attorney told reporters that most voters would find him unqualified to be the state's chief law-enforcement agent.

Speaking outside Mr. Cuomo's campaign headquarters in midtown, Ms. Pirro pointed to a blown-up copy of Mr. Cuomo's disclosure form to the New York State Ethics Commission, on which he'd listed himself a "nonpracticing" lawyer.

"You wouldn't hire as your own lawyer to protect your family an attorney who certified that he doesn't practice law. Well, 19 million New Yorkers don't want a nonpracticing attorney general, either," she said.

SBA Leaps to Defense

Mr. Cuomo dismissed those comments, saying that he'd taken time off from law work to run for Attorney General.

The SBA leaped to defend Mr. Cuomo after Ms. Pirro's remarks were made public.

"There are only two issues on qualifications: experience and integrity," Sgt. Maureen Murphy, SBA recording secretary, responded in a written statement.

"From his experience as a young prosecutor under Robert Morgenthau in the finest District Attorney's Office in the country, to his record as HUD Secretary where he supervised 350 attorneys and fought gun violence, stood up to the gun lobby and kept our communities safer, there is only one candidate who has the credentials to protect all New Yorkers: that's Andrew Cuomo," she said.

Must Get Past Green

Despite winning the support of his party leadership at the State Democratic Convention in Buffalo May 30, Mr. Cuomo still faces a challenge from former Public Advocate Mark Green.

Although Mr. Green failed to win his party's endorsement, he can still petition to have his name added to ballots in September, which he has said he will do.

Also running are Charlie King, a two-time candidate for Lieutenant Governor; and Sean P. Maloney, a former aide to President Clinton.