New York Attorney Letitia James announces campaign for governor

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WHEC/AP) — It’s official, New York Attorney General Letitia James will run for governor, she announced Friday.

The announcement was sent in a statement, but also a video posted online.

James will enter the race as a candidate for the Democratic nomination just months after issuing a report that drove former Governor Andrew Cuomo from office in a sexual harassment scandal.

James, 63, is the first woman elected as New York’s attorney general and the first Black person to serve in the role. With a power base in New York City, she is poised to be a top threat to Gov. Kathy Hochul, who had been Cuomo’s lieutenant governor.

“As I’ve traveled all around New York state, I have witnessed too many working families struggling to make ends meet, and it’s clear that the status quo just won’t do,” James said.

Stories surfaced as late Wednesday announcing James intended to make the run.

Under public pressure, Cuomo last year authorized James to investigate allegations he had sexually harassed several women. The independent investigators she hired to conduct the inquiry released a report in August concluding that there were credible allegations from 11 women, including one aide who said the governor had groped her breast.

Cuomo and his political advisers assailed the report as an unfair and inaccurate hit job, designed to drive him out of a job James coveted. But he resigned from office in August, saying the state couldn’t afford the distraction of an impeachment fight.

A criminal summons charging Cuomo with misdemeanor forcible touching was filed Thursday in the City of Albany Court.

Attorney General Letitia James Announces Bid for Governor by News10NBC on Scribd

James dismissed the charge that her investigation was politically motivated, saying Cuomo should take responsibility for his own conduct.

Her investigation into Cuomo also sparked criticism over her handling of the death of Daniel Prude in Rochester.

If elected, James would become the first Black woman governor in United States history.