As current New York governor Andrew Cuomo was sworn in for his second term on Thursday, Jan. 1, there was a bittersweet moment. His father, former three-term New York governor Mario Cuomo, passed away at age 82 on New Year’s Day, ABC News reports.
“We’re missing one family member,” Andrew Cuomo, 57, said at his swearing in. “My father is not with us today. We had hoped that he was going to be able to come; he is at home and he is not well enough to come. We spent last night with him. … I went through the speech with him. He said it was good, especially for a second-termer. See, my father is a third-termer. But he sends his regards to all of you.”
Sadly Mario passed away later that day.
“He couldn’t be here physically today, my father,” Andrew said in his speech. “But my father is in this room. He is in the heart and mind of every person who is here. He is here and he is here, and his inspiration and his legacy and his experience is what has brought this state to this point. So let’s give him a round of applause.”
Mario Cuomo served as governor from 1983 to 1994. His son began his second term as governor today. ?He was a liberal icon for Democrats and was pressured to run for president in both 1988 and 1992, but turned down the opportunity. He was known for having built more prison cells than any other chief executive in New York’s history. Cuomo was the first Italian-American to be elected governor.
