First, he refused to debate her. Now, he apparently refuses to acknowledge her existence.
At New York City's Labor Day parade this weekend, Cuomo and his running mate Kathy Hochul, along with Mayor Bill de Blasio, completely ignored Cuomo's Democratic Primary opponent, Fordham University Professor Zephyr Teachout. When Teachout approached Cuomo and Hochul and tried to get their attention, they looked right past her. NYTrue.com captured the painfully awkward moment:
Maybe they just need glasses?
Teachout decided to challenge Gov. Cuomo for this year's Democratic primary because she, like many New York liberals, was frustrated by Cuomo's acting more like a Republican on a number of policy issues. Namely, his decision to push tax cuts for businesses.
Progressive New York organizations took notice. Teachout has racked up endorsements from groups like the Public Employees Federation, the Sierra Club and the National Organization for Women, who are disenchanted with Cuomo.
On Thursday, Teachout and Cuomo's GOP opponent Rob Astorino participated in a debate on the Brian Lehrer radio show, sans the governor. They used the hour to boost their credentials and pitch their ideas, but also to criticize Cuomo's absence.
Cuomo is in some hot water for disbanding the Moreland Commission, an ethics commission that was investigating corruption in the Empire State.The governor seemed to disband the commission after it got too close to his own campaign donors. That decision even lost him the endorsement of the New York Times. Both Teachout and Astorino agreed that the scandal proves the Cuomo administration is corrupt.
The New York Democratic Primary against Teachout is Tuesday night. Let's see him try to ignore her then.