Heather Grossmann
DNAinfo News Editor
MANHATTAN — Attorney General and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that Rochester’s mayor, Robert Duffy, would be his running mate.
Cuomo, who announced his bid for governor Saturday after months of being coy about his candidacy, said he believed Duffy’s political experience upstate would make him “especially valuable" as a candidate for lieutenant governor.
"In making this decision I had two criteria: First, could the person serve as governor of the State of New York? Second, has the person demonstrated competence, performance and integrity throughout their career? Robert Duffy meets both of those standards resoundingly," Cuomo said in a statement.
The job of lieutenant governor has become much more high profile since former Gov. Eliot Spitzer — who recently questioned whether Cuomo had the stomach for Albany — resigned in disgrace in 2008, leaving then-Lt. Gov. David Paterson to take over.
Paterson’s own missteps have led to speculation about whether Spitzer had made the right choice when he chose Paterson to be his running mate.
Duffy, a former police chief, is a very popular politician known statewide for following in Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s footsteps by pushing for mayoral control over the Rochester school system.
Cuomo’s selection of Duffy as a candidate for lieutenant governor was largely welcomed by the Democratic party, though some party members reportedly said they had hoped the attorney general would choose a minority for the ticket.
“Can you always get all the diversity you want when you want it?” Mr. Cuomo said at a press conference during the announcement. “No.”
Duffy was elected mayor of Rochester in 2005 after serving as Rochester’s police chief for seven years. He was reelected to a fourth term in 2009.
"I am honored for the chance to ask the voters to let me serve as New York's next Lieutenant Governor. Though being Mayor is a job I love, I have accepted Attorney General Cuomo's offer to be his running mate because the enormous challenges facing our state create an even larger obligation for those of us in public service,” Duffy said in a press release.
