Mario Cuomo, 52nd governor of New York, passed away due to heart failure on Jan. 1, and only five hours after his son Andrew was sworn in to resume his role as the 56th. He was 82.
The first Italian-American to hold the office, Cuomo served three terms as governor from 1983 to 1994. He was previously Lt. Governor (1979-1982) and New York Secretary of State (1975-1978), and lost a bitter race for New York City mayor to Ed Koch in 1977.
Cuomo was a staunch Democrat known for liberal views during an era when “neocon” conservatism began to grow. Despite his Catholic faith, for example, he supported women’s right to abortion to such a degree that he was once considered for excommunication from that church. He also bitterly opposed the death penalty, vetoing many bills pertaining to capital punishment while governor.
He became known nationally after delivering the keynote address at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, in which he criticized incumbent President Ronald Reagan’s campaign advertisements for their false “shining city” projection of the U.S.
“There is despair, Mr. President, in the faces that you don’t see, in the places that you don’t visit, in your shining city.”
Presidential candidate Walter Mondale considered Cuomo to be his running mate that year, as did Bill Clinton in 1992. He refused both campaigns, and later declined Clinton’s interest in appointing?him to the U.S. Supreme Court, as well.
As governor, Cuomo was known for operating under “progressive pragmatism,” and is credited with establishing the foundation for many of today’s liberal ideologies. He improved accessibility to healthcare and affordable prescription medication for children, seniors, poverty, and the disabled, for example, and with policies that are today mimicked by the National Council on Disability. New York became the first state to initiate policies on energy conservation and environmental protection, and Cuomo sought improvement in public education in what he called “the decade of the child.” He was also the first New York governor to appoint women and minorities to high judge seats. Cuomo also operated with balanced budgets, helping New York achieve its highest credit rating in over a decade.
Before his career in law and politics, Cuomo played minor league baseball. He later married Matilda Raffa, who survives him along with their four children and 14 grandchildren.
Cuomo will get to uphold an?ultimate goal he once declared in a newspaper interview. When asked how he wanted to be remembered, he said:
“I want people to say, ‘now, there was an honest person.'”
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