Mario Cuomo was born to Andrea and Immaculata Cuomo on June 15th, 1932,
in Queens, New York. He was the son of Italian immigrants. In Cuomo's
early years he attended Saint John's University, summa cum laude in
1953. He then attended St. John's School of Law, and graduated tied for
the top of his class in 1956. Cuomo became an advisor to Judge Adrian
P. Burke that same year and then entered private practice in 1958.
Cuomo also was a professor at St. John's law school throughout the
sixties, and chaired the University Alumni Federation.
Cuomo was becoming a well known political figure and liberal in the
state of New York about this time. In 1974, Cuomo was the Lieutenant
Governor nominee on the Democratic ballot alongside Howard Samuels, but
his ticket lost to the winners of the Democratic Nomination, Hugh
Carey. Governor Hugh Carey was so impressed with Cuomo, Carey appointed
him to Secretary of State.
In 1977 Cuomo ran for Mayor of New York, but lost in the primary to the
eventual winner of the race Edward Koch. However Cuomo was elected to
Lieutenant Governor in 1978. In 1982 Hugh Carey stepped down as
Governor, and Cuomo won the primary over rival Ed Koch, and went on to
defeat Republican Louis Lehrman. In his campaign, Cuomo's theme was the
theme from Rocky, and his campaign can be detailed in the book Diaries
of Mario M. Cuomo, about his rise to the Governor's office. Cuomo
almost immediately became a national figure in Democratic Politics. A
strong liberal who was against the death penalty, and for effective gun
control, he was quite the contrast to the strong right values of Ronald
Reagan.
In 1986 and 1990 Cuomo won the highest Margin ever for re-election to a
second and third four year term. Cuomo became an extremely popular
political figure. Cuomo made New York nationally known for progressive
legislation. In his tenure Cuomo improved roads, revitalized education
and infrastructure of New York City. Cuomo also created a large
homeless assistance program, created investment in many high tech
facilities, created programs to deal with AIDS and the mentally ill.
Cuomo was a devout Roman Catholic, and while he was opposed to abortion
he felt the state had no right to ban it. As the decade progressed
Cuomo focused attention on children's issues, and created 300,000 jobs
for New Yorkers, and defied two Republican-led recessions. Mario Cuomo
also created the first major ethics law for public officials and gave
New York the largest tax cut in the states history.
Cuomo also created the nations first seat belt law. Cuomo also
appointed all of the judges to the state's court of appeals. To add to
his large list of accomplishments he appointed the first
African-American, Hispanic, and the First two women. Cuomo's strong
progressive record made him a rallying point for liberals all across
the nation. He was a favorite to run for president in 1988 and 1992.
Cuomo refused to run either year. He was the Keynote Speaker at the
1984 Democratic Convention. Rumours were abound as to why he didn't
run, the most notable of which was supposed ties to the Mafia, which
were never confirmed. Cuomo gave the nominating speech to Bill Clinton
in 1992. That year there was a movement to write him in to become
president. However Mario Cuomo's strong record could not defy the
Republican Revolution. Cuomo looked good for re-election in 1994. He
had the endorsement of much of the Democratic top brass in the state,
and a good part of the top Republicans, including the newly elected New
York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani. Critics of his campaign said that against
conservative George Pataki he did not give a strong campaign, and lost
narrowly to the novice former Peekskill Mayor.
Part of Pataki's victory could be attributed to the powerful Senator
Alfonse D'Amato, who helped his campaign considerably. D'Amato lost
heavily in 1998, but Pataki was re-elected. Since September 11th Pataki
has become viewed as a strong leader. Before September 11th, his two
Democratic rivals, Carl McCall, and Cuomo's son Andrew looked to have a
shot at the Governor's seat. Mario Cuomo's political legacy looks to
rest to a certain degree on the potential career of his son. However
Cuomo will be forever remembered as a champion of progressive ideas
that are still being hailed as some of the best in the nation.
Cuomo's post political career has been quite impressive too. Cuomo has
written many essays and books, speaks at many functions across the
country and at one point hosted a nationally syndicated talk show.
Mario is married to Matilda Cuomo and had five children: Margaret, Andrew,
Maria, Madeline and Christopher. He has six grand children.
