October 23, 2025 01:59 PM IST
First published on: Oct 23, 2025 at 12:02 PM IST
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Independent candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, and Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, in New York for the Mayoral debate. (AP Photo)
A tense moment in New York City’s final mayoral debate came when Assembly member Zohran Mamdani confronted former Governor Andrew Cuomo over sexual harassment allegations that led to his resignation in 2021. Mamdani directly addressed Cuomo, prompting strong applause and cheers from the audience.
“Mr Cuomo, in 2021, 13 different women who worked in your administration incredibly accused you of sexual harassment. Since then you have spent more than 20 million dollars in taxpayer funds to defend yourself, all while describing these allegations as entirely political,” Mamdani said.
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He continued, “You have even gone so far as to legally go after these women. One of those women, Charlotte Bennett, is here in the audience. You sought to access her private gynecological records. She cannot speak up for herself because you lodged a defamation case against her. I, however, can speak. What do you say to the 13 women that you sexually harassed?”
Mamdani used the moment to criticise Cuomo’s decade-long record as governor. According to CNN, he said: “The issue is not that we don’t know about Andrew Cuomo’s experience. It’s that we have all experienced it.”
He argued that the governor’s time in office had real consequences for New Yorkers, and the debate stage offered him a platform to hold Cuomo accountable while focusing on his own policy agenda, including housing and affordability.
Cuomo responded by denying any wrongdoing and criticising Mamdani’s framing of the allegations. “If you want to be in government, then you have to be serious and mature.”
He also pointed out that the allegations had been fully investigated: “They were allegations of sexual harassment. They went to five district attorneys, fully litigated for four years, the cases were dropped, right? You know that is a fact, so everything you just stated was a misstatement… The cases were dropped. That’s what happened!”
The exchange occurred during a wide-ranging debate covering crime, immigration enforcement, housing, and the Israel-Hamas conflict. Republican Curtis Sliwa positioned himself as a pragmatic alternative, contrasting himself with both Mamdani’s limited experience and Cuomo’s past controversies.
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Independent candidate former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, left, and Democratic candidate Zohran Mamdani, in New York for the Mayoral debate. (AP Photo) 
