And it couldn’t happen to a nicer guy.

A former aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a tweet on Sunday that the New York official sexually harassed her for years while she was employed in his office. 

“Yes, @NYGovCuomo sexually harassed me for years,” said Lindsey Boylan, who worked for the governor between 2015 and 2018. Boylan was an advisor to Cuomo, as well as the deputy secretary for economic development, according to her LinkedIn profile.

“Many saw it, and watched. I could never anticipate what to expect: would I be grilled on my work (which was very good) or harassed about my looks. Or would it be both in the same conversation?” she tweeted. “This was the way for years.”

 

In a series of tweets last week, Boylan called Cuomo’s office the “most toxic team environment,” saying that people don’t come forward because they’re afraid of the repercussions. 

“If people weren’t deathly afraid of him, they’d be saying the same thing and you’d already know the stories,” she said, adding that she’s heard from others who’ve said similar things about working for him. Boylan did not give any names or more specific information last week when she called the office “toxic.”

Does this sound plausible?

“There are fewer things more scary than giving this man, who exists without ethics, even more control. I saw how he wielded power for years. He takes advantage of people, including me,” Boylan tweeted.

Yeah. I’ve been describing Cuomo as a scary sociopath long before the pandemic kicked in.

At the same time, I should note that Boylan tried primarying Rep. Nadler and only scored about 20% or so. She’s reinvented herself as an AOC Green New Deal insurgent and is now running for Manhattan Borough President. 

She’s not favored to win.

And I don’t doubt that there’s a sizable element of political calculation in coming forward now. Her only path forward is to break out, which is difficult if you’re a white leftist woman in a political system in a city where the future appears to belong to minority candidates, or resign herself to living on the margins of the political system.

That doesn’t mean she isn’t telling the truth. But it helps to have the bigger picture. A thing that few bother with anymore.