Andrew and Mario Cuomo in 2006.Photo: TIMOTHY A. CLARY/Getty Images
New York GovernorAndrew Cuomois remembering his late father,Mario Cuomo, on the six-year anniversary of his death.
“New Year’s Day holds a special meaning for me. Six years ago todaywe lost my father, Mario Cuomo,” Andrew began. “He inspired me and a generation of Americans with his dedication to public service and steadfast commitment to doing the most good for the most people.”
“I hear you every day, Pop,” the current governor concluded.
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The son of Italian immigrants was best known as a liberal giant and a master orator. He died on the same day that his son Andrew was beginning his second term as governor,USA Todayreported at the time.
“He couldn’t be here physically today, my father,” Andrew said during his inaugural addresson the day of Mario’s death. “But my father is in this room. He is in the heart and mind of every person who is here. He is here … and his inspiration and his legacy and his experience is what has brought this state to this point. So let’s give him a round of applause.”
Mario served as New York governor from 1983 to 1994 and “was credited with simultaneously improving the business environment of New York and the quality of life for its citizens, despite a national recession at the time,” Andrew said in a statement.
Mario Cuomo in 2004.Bowers/Getty Images
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In a statement following Mario’s death, then-PresidentBarack Obamasaid, “Michelleand I were saddened tolearn of the passing of former New York Governor Mario Cuomo. An Italian Catholic kid from Queens, born to immigrant parents, Mario paired his faith in God and faith in America to live a life of public service – and we are all better for it.”
“He rose to be chief executive of the state he loved, a determined champion of progressive values and an unflinching voice for tolerance, inclusiveness, fairness, dignity and opportunity,” President Obama added.
When once askedwhat he wanted in his obituary, Mario replied, “People ask me what I want as an epitaph,” before giving the answer: " ‘He tried.’ "
source: people.com
