Former Spox for Cuomo and de Blasio Calls Both Out for ‘Penis Politics’: They Used ‘Gender Domination’ to ‘Assert Their Power Over Women’

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Karen Hinton, a former spokesperson for both Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY) and NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio (D), called out both politicians for their “penis politics,” claiming that they used “gender domination as one means to assert their power over women.”

“The recent spate of stories about Gov. Cuomo’s penchant for bullying isn’t about behavior that’s unusual in politics. It’s the norm,” Hinton wrote in a New York Daily News op-ed. “Andrew, with whom I had a decades-long professional relationship, isn’t the only practitioner of what I call ‘penis politics.’ He just happens to be the master of the art, a subject I am writing a book about.”

She claimed that Cuomo made her feel inadequate when she started working for him in 1995, adding that he actively worked to undermine her and made sure “He always, always, always comes first.”

“In Cuomo’s world — and he would never admit this even to himself — working for him is like a 1950′s version of marriage,” she wrote. “Everyone and everything else — your actual spouse, your children, your own career goals — is secondary. Your focus 24 hours a day is on him.”

Hinton alleged that when she vocalized a need to spend more time with her family, Cuomo would act as if she was “cheating on him,” adding, “If you have your eye on another, better job, he’ll try to make that job disappear.”

“He told me I had only worked for a ‘Black man from a small town in Mississippi’ and, therefore, wasn’t qualified to lead the public affairs office for him,” she revealed. “The Black man from a small town was Mike Espy, who became the first Black congressman from Mississippi since Reconstruction, and who later came as close as any Black or white Democratic candidate has to win a statewide election in what is arguably the most racist state in the nation.”

She went on to note that de Blasio, whom she also worked under for 25 years, “practices a different brand of penis politics,” adding that he was condescending and fostered an “uncomfortable work environment.”

“His signature move as mayor was to dig in on an untenable position against the advice of staff, raising the cost of an inevitable defeat,” she said. “Discussions with staff were marked by condescension, leaving the female staffers feeling especially marginalized.”

She revealed that despite his egalitarianism philosophy, he created a male-dominated workplace where “women were interrupted more often and listened to less” regardless of their position.

She pointed to one thing both Cuomo and de Blasio had in common: They presented themselves as champions of women’s rights, yet used “gender domination as one means to assert their power over women.”