ALBANY – If not for a phone conversation nearly a decade ago, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown – not Kathy Hochul – might currently be the governor of New York State.
In a new book, a former top aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo writes that in 2014, Brown was Cuomo’s top choice to be the governor’s running mate atop the Democratic Party ticket.
But according to the book, Cuomo’s vetting process turned up information that federal investigators were eyeing Brown. Instead, Cuomo endorsed Hochul to be his lieutenant governor. Upon Cuomo’s resignation in 2021, Hochul ascended to the governorship.
The account about Brown comes from a new book by Melissa DeRosa, former secretary to the governor, entitled: “What’s Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics & Crisis.”
The book, available Tuesday, is DeRosa’s unvarnished view of her time as a top aide to Cuomo, amid the rise and fall of one of the Democratic Party’s most prominent figures. DeRosa provided an excerpt to The Buffalo News concerning Brown.
The book also focuses attention on those DeRosa considers culpable for forcing Cuomo’s resignation. Other portions DeRosa has shared with various media – concerning alleged interactions with Attorney General Letitia James, and separately, a New York Times reporter – have already drawn headlines. DeRosa is also a longtime critic of Hochul, and the book contains unflattering characterizations of Cuomo’s successor.
Cuomo was first elected governor in 2010. After one term, Cuomo’s lieutenant governor, Robert Duffy of Rochester, decided to take a job in the…
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