ALBANY — The Senate Democrat looking to become the state’s first female legislative majority leader says that GOP gubernatorial candidate Marc Molinaro “will be nothing short of a disaster for the women of New York.”
Senate Democratic Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, of Yonkers, is issuing Thursday a public letter highlighting what she says is Molinaro’s anti-woman agenda.
Saying that women’s rights are under threat with President Trump and Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, Stewart-Cousins wrote that “now more than ever, New Yorkers need leaders in office who will stand up for the women of New York and fight tooth and nail for their fundamental rights.”
She hit Molinaro for being anti-abortion rights. And said as an assemblyman, he voted five times against a bill to require equal pay for women and wanted to keep in place the practice of shackling pregnant female inmates during labor.
“Imagine that—he thinks women giving birth need to be shackled,” Stewart-Cousins wrote. “His record is appalling.”
She also knocked him for not taking a position on whether Kavanaugh should be confirmed. Molinaro said last week that both Kavanaugh and his accuser, Christine Blasey Ford gave credible testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week before adding it wasn’t for him to say whether the nomination should be approved.
The letter asks Molinaro a series of questions, including whether he believes the women who have accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault, why he voted against equal pay for women, and whether he would codify Roe v. Wade under New York law if it is overturned by the Supreme Court.
“Bottom line: Marc Molinaro’s political opinions and values are not only wrong for New York but also disastrous and destructive for women,” Stewart-Cousins wrote.
The Molinaro campaign had no comment on Stewart-Cousins’ letter.
But Republican consultant Michael Lawler hit back on Twitter.
“This from the woman who stood by @ShellyBMayer when she failed to help two victims of sexual harassment in Albany,” Lawler tweeted in citing a previous Daily News story.
Lawler questioned whether Stewart-Cousins “believes the victims who came forward to share their story.”
Stewart-Cousins attack on Molinaro is similar to one delivered earlier in the day by Gov. Cuomo, who spoke at the Association for a Better New York.
Stewart-Cousins and the Democrats have been highlighting women’s issues in the era of Trump as they seek to pick up at least one seat in the state Senate in November that would give them the majority.
Her letter also comes as Cuomo has begun holding rallies and raising money for various Senate Democratic candidates.
Stewart-Cousins would become the first woman Senate majority leader if the Dems take control.