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Brian Lehrer: It's The Brian Lehrer Show on WNYC. Good morning again, everyone. With us now, the second most powerful New York State Assembly Member behind Speaker Carl Heastie. It's assembly Majority Leader, Crystal Peoples-Stokes. She was last on the Show, some of you may remember, in conjunction with her leading role in getting the recreational cannabis bill passed in the legislature this year. She is from Buffalo where the incoming Governor, Kathy Hochul is from. We'll get some more insight on her.

The assembly has to decide what, if anything to do next, with its investigation of Cuomo, not just on the sexual harassment and sexual abuse claims, but on a number of other things which we'll touch on. Majority Leader, we really appreciate you giving us downstaters some time on this very consequential day. Welcome back to WNYC.

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Thank you, sir. My pleasure to be here.

Brian Lehrer: I saw you quoted saying, "It's unlikely the resignation will stop the impeachment process." Did I see that quote accurately?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Actually, the quote should have been more like the resignation doesn't necessarily mean that the impeachment process won't go forward.

Brian Lehrer: Do you want the impeachment process to go forward and will it?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Personally, I do not, but again, the speaker has a very large conference and the voice of that conference has to be heard prior to a decision being made by the assembly majority. That conversation has not happened yet.

Brian Lehrer: For those who think that it would be good to get all this out in the open through a continued inquiry, what do you say to them if your opinion is it should not go forward?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Well, first of all, if it does go forward, the Senate would then have the responsibility of holding what would essentially be a court. With the Court of Appeal's judiciary, and everybody's going to have to be called in to be witnesses or to report what they think has happened. I think that that puts the 11 of women who are the accusers continually in the public eye and having to bring forth whatever their issues are. I'm not so sure that that's necessary, particularly given [unintelligible 00:02:39] there are potential criminal cases as well as civil cases that will go on whether we do the impeachment proceedings or not.

Brian Lehrer: Let me-- Go ahead, I'm sorry.

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: For me, as a Democrat in that conference, when the speaker does ask for our opinions, I will be of the opinion that the resignation is what most of the members have been clamoring for all year, that has happened and we should move on. It's not like we don't have a ton of work that is yet to be done. We should get right back into that and focus on that and allow the courts do the four [unintelligible 00:03:23] or the civil courts to proceed with further looks into these issues.

Brian Lehrer: Let me ask you briefly about some of the other particular scandal allegations that the governor is or was facing and what you think should come of those. One is the federal inquiry into the alleged deliberate undercounting of nursing home COVID deaths in New York. Do we know what the status of the nursing home investigation is? Is it enough to leave it to the feds?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: I don't know what the status of that investigation is with the Judiciary Committee. I do know that they were looking at it. I know for a fact that the Department of Justice is still investigating that and I believe will pursue whatever ramifications need to happen as a result of their investigation.

Brian Lehrer: Another one is that Attorney General James, as I understand it, has a continuing investigation into if Cuomo used state resources improperly by instructing staffers to help work on the memoir he wrote about his leadership during COVID, for which he received a $5 million advance from the publisher. Has the AG's office given any updates on this inquiry?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Well, I won't say that she hasn't, but I will say that I have not been privy to that and she rightly should still be looking at that.

Brian Lehrer: Another one is that the Times Union this spring revealed new details on efforts by the state to allegedly cover up possible defects with bolts used on the Mario Cuomo bridge. The assembly impeachment inquiry, as I understand it, aim to look at this, but unlike some of the other issues, there doesn't seem to be anyone else looking into it, like the federal government or the state attorney general. Where does this investigation go now if the impeachment inquiry is closed?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Well, honestly, I see the role of the state attorney general as the people's attorney, and should always be looking out in the interest of protecting the people. I do think that that is something that merits additional looks, but I'm not so sure that that necessarily needs to happen through the process of an impeachment inquiry.

Brian Lehrer: Right. Do you think there'll be a further assembly investigation though, into the Mario Cuomo bridge charges in particular?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: From the assembly's perspective, I can't call that one. That's probably a better question asked of the speaker, but again, I do think Leticia James is the people's Attorney for the state of New York. In order to protect the people, she should use the full authority of her office to do so.

Brian Lehrer: You're from the Buffalo area, Kathy Hochul is from the Buffalo area. What can you tell our downstate listeners about Kathy Hochul, if they'd never heard of her before?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Well, if they've never heard of her, they will be delighted when they have an opportunity to meet her. One, she is a very strong, skilled attorney. She has compassion for people. She's super smart and super caring for everyone. She has spent a lot of her time working on issues that are important to women and important to children, and particularly in the childcare area. I think that people will be delighted with her skill set and her understanding of what the needs of New Yorkers are. She's just simply a good person.

Brian Lehrer: Do you think she's ready to be governor? The Lieutenant Governor historically, probably in every state, is pretty marginalized. How ready do you think she is on day one?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: I think she's more than ready on day one. Although, as you said, Lieutenant Governor, as is in most states, is pretty marginalized. One of the things that the Cuomo Administration did, I think pretty well, not just with Kathy Hochul, with Lieutenant Governor, but with Robert Duffy as Lieutenant Governor, is the time that they spent in other counties around the state pushing forward the governor's agenda and helping people understand where state policy issues we're going, I do think that gives her the ability to be ready day one.

I also think the fact that she served at the federal level of government, at the county level of government and at the local level of government, gives her a real good understanding and expertise in how government operates at different levels and how that can all be pulled together to come up with really great state policies that will be impactful for New Yorkers, in general.

Brian Lehrer: Let's hope. Who do you think she should appoint as Lieutenant Governor? She gets to do that. Do you have an opinion?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: I do, but I think it's probably better to share that with her than it is to share it publicly because you don't want to decide for people how she should do it, but without question, it should be someone from downstate.

Brian Lehrer: Someone from downstate because she's from upstate?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Yes. Exactly.

Brian Lehrer: Listeners--

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: This is one state and we got to cover everybody.

Brian Lehrer: Listeners, we can take any of your questions for the New York State Assembly Majority Leader, Crystal Peoples-Stokes, who herself is from Buffalo like Kathy Hochul, who's going to be the Governor, 646-435-7280, 646-435-7280. Majority Leader, what's your understanding of what happens for these two weeks while Cuomo is still in office? What's his role in decision-making, as you see it? What's the assembly's role, either to work with him on some last things or to keep an eye on him?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Well, there are a number of pieces of legislation that we passed on our last session that have yet to be signed. I won't be able to tell you exactly what they are, but I think that there should be some clear collaboration between the Assembly and the Senate and the governor's office to get some of those things signed and put into law. The marijuana legislation, which you referenced earlier, calls for the establishment of a board.

The Governor Cuomo has not yet made his appointments that will require a confirmation from the Senate or both the board chair and the executive director. I think that's something that could happen within the next two weeks and if it doesn't, I'll just be honestly forthright. I've had that conversation with Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, is that on day one, if she's there, she should get that done ASAP.

Brian Lehrer: Let's take a phone call. Dave in Peekskill. You're on WNYC with assembly majority leader, Crystal Peoples-Stokes. Hi, Dave.

Dave: Hi. How are you. Just a quick question that you're talking about things where money came from, or what have you, where did the money come to change all the names of the Tappan Zee bridge to the Governor Mario Cuomo Bridge? Had to be a lot of money and he was asked this once before and he dodged the question. Just as a follow-up on that, the Tappan Zee Bridge was actually, I think it was Hiram Walker or somebody, the Hiram Walker Tappan Zee Bridge. Why couldn't it have been named the Mario Cuomo Tappan Zee Bridge and everybody would have been happy?

Brian Lehrer: Dave, thank you very much, where the money comes in is just to change all those signs on everything that leads to the bridge is what Dave is referring to there from the financial standpoint. Majority leader, what do you want to say to him?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: I will say that you're exactly right, the money comes from the government to change over signs. I would expect that some of that probably came through empire state development corporation, or it actually could have come from the general budget and or the department of transportation, which I believe governs that bridge. I don't think it's the thruway authority. I think it's the transportation authority, not clear, but from either agency and or the existing state budget those resources could have come from and quite honestly, they could come from, in the future if there's [unintelligible 00:11:52] to change the name of the Bridge again.

Brian Lehrer: Do you think the bridge was rightly renamed the Mario Cuomo Bridge, or would you like to see a change back or do you think this was too self-serving on the part of the governor doing it in honor of his own father?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Well, I think it's always admirable when a person honors their family and their heritage, but I'm not so sure if that should have been done with government resources on the government time.

Brian Lehrer: Mark in Newark. You're on WNYC. Mark's having a good laugh in New Jersey, which has its own dysfunctional government problems from time to time looking across the Hudson and going, "ha ha, now it's your turn." Hi, Mark, you're on WNYC.

Mark: Thank you. I just want to know if Cuomo can change his mind and say, "I don't resign."

Brian Lehrer: Within the two weeks while he's still in office?

Mark: Yes.

Brian Lehrer: I guess he could.

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Well, he probably could, but that would not work. In fact, the assembly still does have the ability to move forward with the impeachment process and so I think he knows that and I doubt that he will change his mind.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, I don't think that's going to happen. How good or medium or great or bad a governor do you think Andrew Cuomo has been overall?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: I think he's not been a good governor in terms of his ability to relate well with the legislative branch of government. I think he has some personality quirks there, but in terms of delivering the government in terms of policy, I think he has not done bad. During the course of the pandemic, when we were all shut down in our homes, not only was New Yorkers paying attention to his daily briefing, but people all over the country were paying attention to it.

In many ways, it helped us get through that when we had inadequate representation at the federal level. Even though you could find some things that he's done that have been okay and that are tolerable to people, but you can also find some things that he's done and said that were intolerable to people, hence, that's why he has had to end up resigning.

Brian Lehrer: Was there a best thing and a worst thing that you would say from Governor Cuomo's 10 years in office?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Well, I think if you look at some of the infrastructure work that he's done across the state of New York to improve the condition of our infrastructure, you have to give him some credit for that. I think you also have to give him credit for the manner in which he handled the pandemic on a daily basis, keeping people updated, although at the end of the day, you're a little disappointed with the change in the nursing home numbers, but I don't think that that necessarily added to additional deaths. What he did was untruthful. I think in those areas, you always need to be willing to give the data in a truthful manner and in that case they were not, and that's a detriment.

Brian Lehrer: Germane in Morningside Heights. You're on WNYC with the New York state assembly majority leader, Crystal Peoples-Stokes. Hi, Germane.

Russell: Hi, it's not Germane. It's Russell, as I explained to the guy.

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Are you still there?

Russell: Yes, I'm here. Can you hear me?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Yes.

Brian Lehrer: Yes, we got you. [crosstalk] I apologize. I don't know what happened there. Go ahead.

Russell: Hi, it's Russell. No, it's okay. My question is about Kathy Hochul's possible conflict of interest. Her husband is the general counsel of Delaware North, which is a major concessionaire in the state and also is in the gaming industry. I just wondered if anybody has looked into how her personal finances might have influenced her policy.

Russell: I don't think that anyone has necessarily looked at that as you know this all came to fruition on yesterday, or maybe a few weeks ago. There was a thought process that she could end up stepping in as governor, but I don't think that her husband's role with Delaware North is necessarily a conflict. I do think that since they are both skilled lawyers and by the way, Delaware North is not just a national company or a statewide company, it's a national company and an international company and so if there are some desires by either the owners of Delaware North, the board of Delaware North, or even Kathy Hochul and her husband themselves to reconsider his position there, then that's something that they should decide.

Delaware North is a credible concessionaire and it not only provides that service throughout the state of New York, but provides it throughout the country and the world as well.

Brian Lehrer: Russell, thank you for asking a Germane question. I guess we could say that anyway. The previous caller who wondered if Cuomo could reverse his decision in the next two weeks and not resign from office, obviously that's not going to happen, but one of the reasons that some people wanted the impeachment process to go forward anyway was because under the current circumstances with just the resignation, he could turn around and run for office again, whether it's next year, if he can rehabilitate his image sufficiently in the coming months or for something else in the future. Would you like to see the governor barred from running for office in the future? Do you think that that would be a fit punishment?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: I think it's a fit punishment for him for having a fairly decent political career to have to resign for the improprieties that he allowed to go on at his office. I think that that's fair punishment and I don't know what rehabilitation process he could go through that would hold him ineligible to ever be able to run for office again, but as an African-American woman whose people have suffered enormously from a criminal justice system that sometimes incarcerated people unfairly, I think once you've done your time and you've been held accountable, I don't think you should be prohibited from working again.

It's like you do your time, you're held accountable and now you can't work anymore, at least not in this field. I'm not okay with that and I would have to give it a lot more thought to figure out what would be the reasons that I would suggest that he would be ineligible ever to serve the people again, particularly when I represent a people who quite frankly, in many ways, thought he was a good governor and didn't really like to see him go.

Brian Lehrer: How do you explain or understand that the African-American community was so solidly behind Cuomo and maybe in large community generalization terms, the last to let him go?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: It's hard to explain. I just saw someone yesterday at the Apple store who railed on me about what was going on with him. I'm not so sure. I think people just genuinely liked his work as a governor. They liked the time that he spent daily on TV helping them through the COVID epidemic. They felt like, in some ways, that more of this was about politics than it was about real issues. I don't necessarily agree with them on that, but people are entitled to their opinions and by the way, people are constantly expressing them, whether they're in the media or not, everyone has a smartphone, everybody's either always on Twitter or Facebook or something.

Everybody's points of view is always out there and I'm just thinking that Black people felt like sometimes they have been in a position that he's in and were not treated fairly and didn't feel like he was being treated fairly. Again, I don't always have to agree with them on that, but I do have to hear their opinions and believe me, I do.

Brian Lehrer: Funny enough or not funny, we got our first Black governor in New York state, David Patterson, because a white male governor resigned from a scandal, by the way, listeners, David Patterson, who was in the position that Kathy Hochul is now in, ascending to the governorship this week, David Patterson's going to be our first guest tomorrow morning. David Patterson became our first Black governor that way. Kathy Hochul is going to become our first woman governor this way. What do you think it could mean to the state to have its first woman governor?

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: Well, I think it's a powerful statement. One, that it took us so long and two that it's finally happening. By the way, I think everything happens in a divine order and it's time for a woman to be governor in the state of New York. Sadly, governor Cuomo had to go down to make that a reality, much like Spitzer had to go down to make Patterson a reality, but however it happened, it was supposed to happen at this time because it is a part of this divine order and this great society that we live in, and by the way, Kathy Hochul is going to be a great governor.

She's going to be a great governor day one right straight through her administration, whether or not she runs for reelection or not, she's going to be good. It is an opportunity to help New Yorkers understand that yes, we have a history of white men being at the head of our government at the state level, but history can change. This is a historical moment that most of us will never forget and most of us will see benefits from as a result of it.

Brian Lehrer: On that note, a hopeful note, we leave it with New York state assembly majority leader, Crystal Peoples-Stokes. Majority leader, we always appreciate when you come on with us and on such a consequential day on which I'm sure you are also slammed schedule wise. Thank you for giving us so much time.

Crystal Peoples-Stokes: It's my pleasure. Thank you for inviting me. Have a great day.

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