Mario Cuomo, Former New York Governor, Dead at 82

Mario Cuomo, the powerful liberal governor of New York, died earlier today, according to news reports.

At the inauguration today to his second term as New York’s governor, Cuomo’s son Andrew said:

We’re missing one family member. My father is not with us today. We had hoped that he was going to be able to come; he is at home and he is not well enough to come. We spent last night with him, changed the tradition a little bit. We weren’t in Albany last night; we stayed at my father’s house to ring in the New Year with him. I went through the speech with him. He said it was good, especially for a second-termer. See, my father is a third-termer. But he sends his regards to all of you. He couldn’t be here physically today, my father. But my father is in this room. He is in the heart and mind of every person who is here. He is here and he is here, and his inspiration and his legacy and his experience is what has brought this state to this point. So let’s give him a round of applause.

Mario Cuomo’s legacy included blocking attempts to restore New York’s death penalty while expanding its prison system—and a gift for public speaking that made him a national figure, said The Daily News.

“In an era when liberal thought was increasingly discredited, Cuomo, a man of large intellect and often unrestrained personality, celebrated it, challenging Ronald Reagan at the height of his presidency with an expansive and affirmative view of government and a message of compassion, tinged by the Roman Catholicism that was central to Mr. Cuomo’s identity,” said the New York Times.

The Governor’s office released this statement at 9:18 p.m.:

MARIO M. CUOMO

(June 15, 1932- January 1, 2015)

The family of former Governor Mario M. Cuomo announced that the Governor passed away from natural causes due to heart failure this evening at home with his loving family at his side.

He was 82 years of age.

The Fifty Second Governor of New York State, Governor Mario Cuomo served as New York’s Chief Executive from 1983 through 1994. He was credited with simultaneously improving the business environment of New York and the quality of life for its citizens, despite a national recession at the time.

Governor Cuomo presented eleven consecutive balanced budgets, reduced taxes, and implemented comprehensive governmental ethics and fiscal reforms. From the time Cuomo took office, New York experienced an increase of hundreds of thousands of jobs and tens of thousands of businesses.

Proclaiming the Decade of the Child, Mario Cuomo ushered in a multi-faceted effort to improve the lives of all New York’s children. His administration became the first in the country to develop an Energy Plan and to sign into law controls on acid rain among many undertakings.

Prior to his election as governor in 1983, Governor Cuomo served in the public and private practice of law for 18 years, simultaneously teaching as an adjunct professor for more than ten years at The St. John’s School of Law.

Mario Cuomo first gained public recognition for his resolution of the Forest Hills housing controversy in 1972. He was appointed to serve as the Secretary of State of New York in 1975 and in 1978 he was elected as Lieutenant Governor. He later received national attention for his 1984 Keynote Address at the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.

2014 marked 60 years of marriage to first lady Matilda Raffa Cuomo, a graduate of The St. John’s University Teacher’s College. The Governor is survived by his children, Margaret (Howard Maier), Andrew (Sandra Lee), Maria (Kenneth Cole), Madeline (Brian O’Donoghue), Christopher (Cristina Cuomo), as well as 14 grandchildren: Christina Cuomo Perpignano,

Marianna Cuomo Maier, Cara Kennedy Cuomo, Mariah Kennedy Cuomo, Michaela Kennedy Cuomo, Emily Cole, Amanda Cole, Katherine Cole, Samantha O’Donoghue, Kristin O’Donoghue, Tess O’Donoghue, Bella Cuomo, Mario Cuomo, and Carolina Regina Cuomo.

Funeral arrangements will be announced shortly.

PHOTO: Wikipedia commons