‘Penis politics’ op-ed penned by top De Blasio, Cuomo staffer draws muted response
A scathing op-ed that took both Mayor de Blasio and Gov. Cuomo to task for their treatment of female staffers drew little pushback Wednesday from de Blasio, who cited his relationship with his wife as evidence that he’s progressive when it comes to women in the workplace.
Karen Hinton, who served on the press teams of both Hizzoner and Cuomo, blasted both of them Wednesday in a Daily News op-ed entitled “How to counter penis politics,” which painted Cuomo as a 1950s patriarch and de Blasio as a hypocrite who publicly paid lip service to female empowerment, but privately employed a “hectoring, inflexible approach that bordered on sanctimony.”
“Although the mayor preached a philosophy of egalitarianism, the workplace was pretty much like any other male-dominated environment I’ve been in: Women were interrupted more often and listened to less, whether they were a commissioner or a scheduler,” she wrote. “Discussions with staff were marked by condescension, leaving the female staffers feeling especially marginalized. It made for an uncomfortable work environment.”
When asked to respond to the op-ed Wednesday at a press briefing, de Blasio held up his wife, Chirlane McCray, as evidence of his women’s-rights bona fides and then turned to the makeup of his administration.
“I have not seen the piece. I’ll only talk about the history of this administration,” said de Blasio, who for years has received press briefing memos from City Hall staff. “From the very beginning, the leadership of this administration has been a majority of women and continues to be. My No. 1 adviser, confidant, partner in everything — as everyone knows — is Chirlane. My longest-serving aide, the person I have depended on, working so closely with now for over a decade or more, [is] Emma Wolfe. And four out of six deputy mayors are women.”
De Blasio added that throughout his more than seven years as mayor, his team has been a “female-led administration in so many ways.”
“I have tremendous respect for the folks who have been a part of this team, and I listen to their voices,” he said.
De Blasio, who has famously feuded with Cuomo for years, also sidestepped questions about whether the governor is fit to serve another term — and whether he has any designs on running for the state’s highest office himself once his tenure at City Hall ends.
“I’m not going to opine on the governor’s choices. That’s up to him,” he said. “I have not made any plans yet for my next step. At some point, I’ll sort it out.”
De Blasio did say, though, that he does not intend to venture into the private sector to make “a ton of money.”
“I have never done that, never will. It’s just not who I am,” he said. “I’m a public servant. This is my life. I certainly want to find a way to serve in the future.”
