‘You know me, I am a New Yorker, born and bred, I am a fighter. My instinct is to fight through this controversy because I truly believe it is politically motivated. I believe it is unfair and untruthful and I believe it demonizes behavior that is unsustainable for society. If I could communicate the facts through the frenzy, New Yorkers would understand.
‘But when I took my oath as governor, I became a fighter but I became a fighter for you and it is your best interest that I must serve. This situation, by its current trajectory, will generate months of political and legal controversy. That is what is going to happen. That is how the political wind is blowing. It will consume government, cost taxpayers millions of dollars, it will brutalize people.
‘The State Assembly outlined weeks of process that will then lead to months of litigation. Time and money that government should spend managing COVID, guarding against the Delta variant, reopening up state, fighting gun violence, and saving New York City.
‘All that time would be wasted… government really needs to function today. Government needs to perform. It is a matter of life and death. Wasting energy on distractions is the last thing state government should be doing.
‘I cannot be the cause of that.’
