Another ex-aide calls out cuomo conduct

Another woman who worked for New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has described conduct she says was inappropriate for the workplace. Ana Liss, 35, told The Wall Street Journal in a story

published on Saturday 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 Cuomo's behaviour harmless but

it grew to bother her. She felt it was patronising. "It's not appropriate, really, in any setting," she said. "I wish that he took me seriously." A spokesman for

Cuomo didn't immediately return a request for comment but told the Journal some of the behaviour Liss was describing was the kind of innocent glad-handing 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 intense scrutiny with several women telling of feeling sexually harassed or at least made to feel demeaned and

uncomfortable. Former adviser Lindsey Boylan, 36, said he made inappropriate comments on her appearance, once kissed her on the lips and suggested a game of strip poker as they sat with

other aides on a jet flight. Another former aide, Charlotte Bennett, 25, said Cuomo asked if she ever had sex with older men and made comments she interpreted as gauging her interest in an

affair. Another woman, who did not work for the state, described Cuomo putting his hands on her face and asking if he could kiss her after they met at a wedding. Cuomo on Wednesday denied

ever touching anyone inappropriately but apologised for behaving in a way he now realised had upset women he worked with. He said he'd made jokes and asked personal questions in an

attempt to be playful and frequently greeted people with hugs and kisses, as his father, Mario Cuomo, had done when governor. "I understand sensitivities have changed. Behavior has

changed," Cuomo said. "I get it and I'm going to learn from it." The state's attorney general plans to hire an outside law firm to investigate the allegations. Some

lawmakers have called for Cuomo to resign over his behavior and separate claims his administration misled the public about coronavirus nursing home fatalities. GET THE LATEST NEWS FROM

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