One more woman accuses Cuomo of harassment

AFP

Another woman who worked for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has described conduct she felt was inappropriate for the workplace.

Ana Liss, 35, told The Wall Street Journal in a story published on Saturday that when she worked as a policy aide to the governor between 2013 and 2015, Cuomo called her “sweetheart,” once kissed her hand and asked personal questions, including whether she had a boyfriend. She said he sometimes greeted her with a hug and a kiss on both cheeks.

Liss told the Journal she initially thought of Cuomo’s behavior as harmless, but it grew to bother her. She felt it was patronizing.

“It’s not appropriate, really, in any setting,” she said. “I wish that he took me seriously.”

A spokesperson for Cuomo told the Journal that some of the behavior Liss was describing was the kind of innocent glad-handing that politicians often do at public events.

“Reporters and photographers have covered the governor for 14 years watching him kiss men and women and posing for pictures,” said Rich Azzopardi, a senior advisor to Cuomo. “At the public open-house mansion reception, there are hundreds of people, and he poses for hundreds of pictures. That’s what people in politics do.”

Liss said she never made a formal complaint. Cuomo’s workplace conduct has been under scrutiny recently as several women have publicly told of feeling sexually harassed, or made to feel demeaned and uncomfortable.