Democrats running for mayor will hash out the hot-button issue of immigration Wednesday night – but frontrunner Andrew Cuomo will be notably missing.
The former governor is skipping out another chance to answer tough questions, this time at a forum in which his opponents in the June primary were expected to address how they’d respond to the Trump administration’s crack down on illegal migrants.
The event at the CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies, hosted by the New York Immigration Coalition, was set to feature socialist Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, the runner-up in the polls after Cuomo.
It’s the latest in a string of mayoral campaign forums that the ex-gov has opted not to attend — and his past absences have sparked a chorus of criticism from his opponents.
“When you are scared to answer to the people of New York and are scared to be held accountable than you’re not going to participate in the forums,” state Sen. Jessica Ramos told NBC 4 NY last month after Cuomo missed another forum in Brooklyn.
He also brushed off a discussion on public safety last week, which was attended by most of the other Democratic primary candidates.
Cuomo, however, did speak at the Rev. Al Sharpton’s annual National Action Network Convention earlier this month.
Organizers of Wednesday’s immigration forum said on their website that Cuomo had been invited, along with Mayor Eric Adams, who is running as an independent and who also opted to skip the event.
Along with Mamdani, other candidates expected to attend include Ramos, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, city Comptroller Brad Lander and his predecessor Scott Stringer, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and ex-Obama aide Michael Blake.
Cuomo’s chronic absences haven’t hurt him in the polls — he led Mamdani 34% to 16% when voters were asked about their top choice, according to a survey released Tuesday.
But Cuomo — who resigned from the governor’s office in disgrace in 2021 over sexual harassment allegations he denies — faced a rash of embarrassing fumbles this week.
The veteran pol lost out on almost $3 million in campaign matching funds due to a paperwork snafu and unveiled a typo-laced housing plan, which a representative admitted was put together with the help of research conducted by ChatGPT.
A Cuomo campaign spokesperson insisted the ex-governor has attended “a number of forums and will attend others in the coming weeks as he continues to engage voters on his platform to make New York City a safer and more affordable place for all.”
Cuomo has also talked about immigration with media outlets and voters are aware of his past track record, the spokesperson added.
A political consultant not affiliated with any campaign argued there is “no benefit” to Cuomo showing up at forums.
“When your name is Andrew Cuomo, you’re leading in every poll and you have millions upon millions to spend, the truth is you don’t need to show up to the forums,” said John Tomlin, senior managing director of Actum.
“People know who he is, they know what kind of leadership he brings and they either support him or they don’t. Him showing up to the forum just puts him in the line of fire and honestly elevates his opponents more than it does him.”
