I worked for Andrew Cuomo. New allegations made me rethink my own experience in Albany.

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Shockwaves reverberated across New York City and the rest of the country when the state attorney general’s office, Letitia James, released a report finding Governor Andrew Cuomo harassed 11 women in his office. The report was much more damning than insiders expected, but the response from the governors denying all the allegations was not surprising. After all, no one challenges like Cuomo.

When the first allegations against Cuomo were raised in March, I said over and over again that I had never personally experienced or witnessed sexual harassment during my tenure in governor’s office.

When the first allegations against Cuomo were raised in March, I said time and again that I had never personally experienced or witnessed sexual harassment during my tenure in governor’s office eight years ago. Since then, however, I have reflected not only on my time in the governor’s office, but also on my general career in government and politics.

When Cuomo appointed me Special Advisor in 2014, that was news. There were several articles in the newspapers, mainly because I was a Republican. At the time, I had my own consulting firm and I was a political contributor for MSNBC. In other words, I was considered a high profile hire. It never occurred to me that maybe it was because I was in the spotlight and didn’t owe my career to the Governor that I might have been shielded from this behavior.

Have I seen the governor demeaning staff and intimidating government officials? Absoutely. Was he a demanding and sometimes unreasonable boss? You bet he was. Was it something I had never seen before? No, but instead it’s part of a pattern that I’ve witnessed many times over my 30 years in the business.

But that’s the point: I’ve seen this kind of behavior all the time. Also, by accepting it as part of the culture, I allowed it to continue. There were days when I tried to console a colleague after being scolded by the governor, and other days I was the one who needed the support of my colleagues. At the time, it seemed like just another day at the office; it was not sexual harassment, but it certainly should have been labeled unacceptable.

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When the #MeToo movement started, and I felt like every day brought new revelations about the men in power, I spoke about my own experiences as a young woman surrounded by men. I considered myself lucky that I only had to deal with a slap on the butt every now and then, and that I could usually fend off unwanted advances. To be clear, I always knew this behavior was wrong and unacceptable, but back then it was a common occurrence. And like dozens of other women, we just coped with it.

Things were much worse in Albany. In the 1990s there was the Bear Mountain Pact, which means what happens in Albany stays in Albany. And while many male lawmakers and staff have passed through the state house, its culture has remained the same. Since then, dozens of laws have been written, more men have been convicted of this behavior and, most importantly, more women are speaking out.

My office is a demanding place to work, and it’s not for everyone, Cuomo said in his shameful explanation. There is no doubt that working at the highest levels of government is demanding and, at times, exhausting. Most of us who come into the field know and understand it.

In fact, some of the hardest working and dedicated workers I have ever known have worked for Cuomo. This is why it was so shocking to see them berated, humiliated and marginalized by the governor. The anguish on the faces of the senior executives was palpable, and at times it seemed as if the governor was enjoying it. It was an aspect of toxicity. The other was the fear of retaliation.

During the first two months in the office, I remember hearing that a senior executive was leaving. I asked where she was going. She replied that she would let me know once she got to the new location. I was taken aback, but when I asked why, I was told that people had not told the governor when or where they were perhaps going for fear he would sabotage him. It didn’t matter whether he knew you or loved you, he didn’t like people leaving him. Loyalty above all.

Related

Today, the same questions arise after every sexual harassment scandal. How could he think he would get away with this? How to strengthen the laws? These are good questions, but what really needs to be looked at, if we are to progress, is the culture of work. Thinking back, it’s easy to see how culture has allowed the governor’s behavior to exist and fester and sometimes hide in plain sight. Fear does that.

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Susan Del Percio is a Republican strategist, political analyst for MSNBC, and Know Your Value contributor.

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