“Today’s cancellation of session, as our state faces multiple crises politically and economically, is nothing short of shameful. I was hoping that after we held session for less than three hours over the course of three days last week, my Majority colleagues would come back to Albany ready to get to work for the people, but clearly they are too distracted by their efforts to save the governor’s skin to do so. This avoidance of accountability is getting in the way of us doing real work as legislators, and in the kind of crisis we’re in as a state, we cannot afford to be doing anything less than everything we can for New Yorkers.

“The governor needs to resign now, because at this point his capacity to lead has been completely eroded. His true character has been exposed for the world to see; our governor has proven himself to be dishonest and abusive of his authority and has shown that he is concerned more with his political well-being than that of the people of our state. Keeping him in power following everything that’s come to light in recent weeks will only serve as a distraction for the real work that needs to be done for the working families of our state.

“The writing is on the wall; the governor’s administration is paying for criminal defense lawyers and we know his time is limited. For the sake of those in our state who have been struggling to make ends meet throughout this last year, the governor should resign immediately so we can focus on keeping food on tables, shots in arms and the doors of our small businesses open. We need dedicated, compassionate leadership to get our state through the challenges we face, and not somebody who has shown their willingness to bully, abuse and lie to others for his own selfish, twisted purposes.”