![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
It was the summer of 1987. I had managed, I am not quite sure how, to get an internship at the Governor's Press Office. This was the place that handled a lot of the PR, important and not, for Governor Mario Cuomo. It was a fun summer, my first exposure to college students from beyond Yeshiva University, my first chance to do anything worthwhile at all with my summers. And we got to visit Albany.
Granted, Albany is not a very exciting place. But going to Albany meant getting a chance to meet Governor Cuomo. We didn't get to meet him in the halls of government. We met him first on the softball field, with his NYC and Albany staffs playing each other. He was the umpire. No one was going to argue balls and strikes that day (and as he was a former minor leaguer, he probably knew better anyway). And after the game, all his interns from both offices were invited to the poolhouse at his mansion. Where for two hours he spoke to us of the importance of public service.
Nearly thirty years later, and I am still in public service, albeit in the non-profit world rather than with the government. I knew then as I know now not to chase the dollar. And a big reason why is that on a warm August night in Albany, Mario Cuomo, dedicated public servant, took the time to talk with his interns.
He, like all politicians, like all men, was flawed. His "Will I or Won't I Run for President?" routine wore thin, and I still wonder just why he didn't run. But as governors and as public servants went, he among the best I have ever seen. He was certainly among the more liberal. For today, I will reserve comment about his son. But his son's choice to follow in his footsteps matters. And those moments when Andrew Cuomo is bold, those come from having Mario as a dad.
My condolences go Andrew and the rest of the Cuomo family, and to the state that Mario served so well. Thanks, one last time, for helping to show me my path, Mr. Governor.
Granted, Albany is not a very exciting place. But going to Albany meant getting a chance to meet Governor Cuomo. We didn't get to meet him in the halls of government. We met him first on the softball field, with his NYC and Albany staffs playing each other. He was the umpire. No one was going to argue balls and strikes that day (and as he was a former minor leaguer, he probably knew better anyway). And after the game, all his interns from both offices were invited to the poolhouse at his mansion. Where for two hours he spoke to us of the importance of public service.
Nearly thirty years later, and I am still in public service, albeit in the non-profit world rather than with the government. I knew then as I know now not to chase the dollar. And a big reason why is that on a warm August night in Albany, Mario Cuomo, dedicated public servant, took the time to talk with his interns.
He, like all politicians, like all men, was flawed. His "Will I or Won't I Run for President?" routine wore thin, and I still wonder just why he didn't run. But as governors and as public servants went, he among the best I have ever seen. He was certainly among the more liberal. For today, I will reserve comment about his son. But his son's choice to follow in his footsteps matters. And those moments when Andrew Cuomo is bold, those come from having Mario as a dad.
My condolences go Andrew and the rest of the Cuomo family, and to the state that Mario served so well. Thanks, one last time, for helping to show me my path, Mr. Governor.
