--- title: Mario Cuomo Dead: Former New York Governor, Liberal Icon Dies at 82 description: Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo died on Jan. 1 at age 82 canonical: https://time.com/3651726/mario-cuomo-dead-new-york-governor/ author: Dan Hirschhorn article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-02T01:42:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T20:46:24.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Mario Cuomo, Former New York Governor and Liberal Icon, Dies at 82 og:description: Cuomo died just hours after his son was inaugurated to a second term as governor. og:url: https://time.com/3651726/mario-cuomo-dead-new-york-governor/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2603e0e7eb823b40/698777d7f887dc52e2e894a4/mario-cuomo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3470 og:image:height: 1952 og:image:alt: New York Governor Mario Cuomo delivers the keynote speech at the '84 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Mario Cuomo, Former New York Governor and Liberal Icon, Dies at 82 twitter:description: Cuomo died just hours after his son was inaugurated to a second term as governor. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2603e0e7eb823b40/698777d7f887dc52e2e894a4/mario-cuomo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Mario Cuomo, Former New York Governor and Liberal Icon, Dies at 82 > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: September 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. Senior correspondent Philip Elliott brings sharp context to the issues driving the capital, connecting the decisions made in Washington to the institutions, industries and people they affect. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b0bc5026-148a-4c38-9b72-881131117291&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Twice a week | time.com/newsletters, September 2026 | | Written by | Philip Elliott, Senior Correspondent | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The policy influence ecosystem. A policy-focused audience spanning government, public affairs, advocacy, law, research, political media, and the institutions that make, interpret and respond to public policy. ### TIME D.C. Brief: key statements * D.C. Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * D.C. Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b0bc5026-148a-4c38-9b72-881131117291&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=b0bc5026-148a-4c38-9b72-881131117291&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, twice a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=b0bc5026-148a-4c38-9b72-881131117291&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1) ## Video: Mario Cuomo's 1984 Convention Speech [Watch (HLS stream): Mario Cuomo's 1984 Convention Speech](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/t6RLC29o.m3u8) (7:35)  _Published 2015-01-02. Watch Mario Cuomo's landmark 1984 Convention Speech on equality._ by [Dan Hirschhorn](https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Updated: Dec 13, 2023 8:46 PM UTCPublished: Jan 2, 2015 1:42 AM UTC by [Dan Hirschhorn](https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/) ## Dan Hirschhorn Updated: Dec 13, 2023 8:46 PM UTCPublished: Jan 2, 2015 1:42 AM UTC Mario Cuomo, the former New York governor whose fiery, eloquent advocacy of liberal policies made him a key figurehead in the Democratic Party for years, died Thursday. He was 82, and his death was confirmed by the office of his son, current New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Cuomo died just hours after his son was inaugurated to a second term as governor. Andrew Cuomo said during his inauguration Thursday that his father was too ill to attend. Cuomo’s family said he died “from natural causes due to heart failure this evening at home with his loving family at his side.” President Barack Obama paid tribute to “a determined champion of progressive values, and an unflinching voice for tolerance, inclusiveness, fairness, dignity, and opportunity.” White House spokesman Eric Schultz said the President also phoned Andrew Cuomo to personally extend his condolences. “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,” Obama said in a statement. “His own story taught him that as Americans, we are bound together as one people, and our country’s success rests on the success of all of us, not just a fortunate few.” Mario Cuomo served as governor from 1983 to 1994, during which he was twice considered a clear frontrunner for the Democratic presidential nomination. But both times, in 1988 and 1992, he declined to run. His keynote speech at the 1984 Democratic convention is remembered as a forceful defense of liberalism—and a searing attack on then-President Ronald Reagan. “Mr. President, you ought to know that this nation is more ‘a tale of two cities’ than it is just a ‘shining city on a hill,'” Cuomo said then. Cuomo often found his liberal policy ambitions in New York thwarted by a harsh economic climate, but his personification of the Democratic Party’s liberal wing at a time when conservatism was ascendant made him a political player far beyond the state’s borders. The 1984 convention speech was a high-water mark in his political career, and he very publicly flirted with White House runs in the years ahead. In a dramatic moment in December of 1991, Cuomo kept an airplane waiting on the tarmac while he mulled whether to fly to New Hampshire to hand in his application to be on the primary ballot on the day it was due. A budget clash with Republicans in the state legislature kept him from leaving, and he announced that he wouldn’t run. Had he decided to run in 1992 it’s possible Bill Clinton would have never become president. “We have lost a true progressive giant with Governor Mario Cuomo’s passing today,” former New York Gov. David Paterson wrote on Twitter. Former New York Gov. George Pataki called Cuomo “a proud son of immigrants, possessed of a soaring intellect \[and\] a great New Yorker.” —_With reporting by Zeke Miller / Washington_ _Read next:_ [_Vice President Biden, Gov. Cuomo and Mayor de Blasio Honor Life of Fallen Officer_](http://time.com/3647737/joe-biden-andrew-cuomo-bill-de-blasio-rafael-ramos-nypd/?xid=time%5Freadnext) [_Listen to the most important stories of the day._](http://time.com/newsletter/the-brief/?sl%5Fautoplay=true&xid=spl-fullbrief-article) ### See Mario Cuomo's Life in Pictures  Mario Cuomo, Democratic candidate for Lt. Gov. of New York State, at City Hall in New York City on Aug. 30, 1974. Frank Russo—New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images  Mrs. Marie LaGuardia endorsed Mario Cuomo's candidacy for Mayor, presenting him with one of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia's famous hats for good luck, at Cuomo's Times Square headquarters in New York City on Oct. 25, 1977. Jack Manning—The New York Times/Redux  Governor-elect Mario Cuomo reads the morning papers with his wife, Matilda, at their home in the Queens borough of New York City on Nov. 3, 1982. Jim Wilson—The New York Times/Redux  Andrew Cuomo, right, with Mario Cuomo, during his father's first campaign for governor of New York, Sept. 24, 1982. William E. Sauro—The New York Times/Redux  Mario Coumo with his daughter Margaret before her marriage to Peter Perpignano on Oct. 10, 1982. Anthony Casale—New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images  Gov. Mario Cuomo puts on a vest as he leaves his office at the Capitol in Albany, N.Y. on Jan. 20, 1983. Harry Hamburg—New York Daily News Archive/Getty Images  Marching down New York's Fifth Avenue during the Columbus Day Parade are (from left:) Congressman Mario Biaggi, New York City Mayor Edward Koch, Lt. Gov. Mario Cuomo and Westchester County Executive Alfred DelBello in New York City on Oct. 11, 1982. AP  Gov. Mario Cuomo, with some coaching by Mayor Ed Koch, left, throws out the first pitch at Shea Stadium, before a New York Mets game in New York City on April 5, 1983. Barton Silverman—The New York Times/Redux  New York Gov. Mario Cuomo gives a thumbs-up gesture with both hands during his keynote address to the opening session of the Democratic National Convention in San Francisco on July 17, 1984. AP  Mario Cuomo attends Hands Across America Benefit in Los Angeles on May 25, 1986. Ron Galella—WireImage/Getty Images  New York Governor Mario Cuomo points toward the camera as President Bill Clinton waves at the Cooper Union College in New York City on May 12, 1993. Greg Gibson—AP  New York Governor Mario Cuomo, right, converses with South African President Nelson Mandela at the Inter-Continental Hotel in New York City on Oct. 2, 1994. Malcolm Clarke—AP  New York Governor Mario Cuomo, left, New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, center, and New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton laugh during a light moment while touring the NYPD's shooting range in New York City on June 23, 1994. Ed Bailey—AP  Mario Cuomo, the three-term Democratic governor of New York, in 1995. Fred R. Conrad—The New York Times/Redux  Mario Cuomo, former governor of New York, speaks to media outside of federal court in New York City on March 19, 2012. Scott Eells—Bloomberg/Getty Images  Former New York Governor Mario Cuomo, accompanied by his wife Matilda Cuomo, serves as the Grand Marshal of the San Gennaro Grand Procession, kicking off the 87th annual San Gennaro Festival in the Little Italy section of New York City on Sept. 14, 2013. Angel Chevrestt—Zuma Press/Corbis  Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo embraces his father Mario after being reelected governor of New York, in New York City on Nov. 4, 2014. Lucas Jackson—Reuters ## Transcript Ten days ago President Reagan admitted that although some people in this country seem to be doing well nowadays, others were unhappy, even worried about themselves, their families, and their futures. The President said that he didn't understand that fear. He said, why this country is a shining city on a hill. And the President is right. In many ways we are a shining city on a hill, but the hard truth is that not everyone is sharing. In this city's splendor and glory. A shining city is perhaps all the President sees from the portico of The White House to the veranda of his ranch, where everyone seems to be doing well. But there's another city, there's another part to the shining city. The part where some people can't pay their mortgages And most young people can't afford one. Where students can't afford the education they need and middle class parents watch their dreams they hold for their children evaporate. In this part of the city there are more poor than ever. More families in trouble. More and more people who need help but can't find it. Even worse, there are elderly people who tremble in the basements of the houses there. And there are people who sleep in the city streets in the gutter. Where the glitter doesn't show. There are ghettos where thousands of young people without a job or an education give their lives away to drug dealers every day. There is despair, Mr. President, in the faces that you don't see. In the places that you don't visit in your shining city. In fact, Mr. President, this is a nation ( audience claps ). Mr. President, you ought to know. That this nation is more A Tale of Two Cities, than it is just a shining city on a hill. [ APPLAUSE ] Maybe, maybe Mr. President, if you visited some more places. Maybe if you went to Appalachia where some people still live in sheds. Maybe if you went to Lackawanna with thousands of unemployed steel workers wonder why we subside foreign steel. Maybe, maybe, Mr. President, if you stopped in at a shelter in Chicago. And spoke to the homeless there. Maybe, Mr. President, if you asked a woman who had been denied the help she needed to feed her children because you said you needed the money for a tax break for a millionaire or a missile. We couldn't afford to [ INAUDIBLE ]. [ APPLAUSE ] Maybe Mr. President. But I'm afraid not. Because the truth is ladies and gentlemen that this is how we were warned it would be. President Reagan told us from the very beginning. That he believed in a kind of social Darwinism. Survival of the fittest. Government can't do everything we were told. So it should settle for taking care of the strong and hope that economic ambition and charity will do the rest. Make the rich richer and what falls from the table will be enough for the middle class and those who are trying desperately to work their way into the middle class [ APPLAUSE ] You know, the Republicans called it trickle down when Hoover tried it. Now they call it supply side. But it's the same shining city for those relative few who are lucky enough to live in its good neighborhoods. But for the people who are excluded, for the people who are locked out, all they can do is stare from a distance at that city's glimmering towers. The Republicans believe that the wagon train will not make it to the frontier, unless some of the old. Some of the young, some of the weak are left behind by the side of the trail. [ APPLAUSE ] The strong, the strong, they tell us, will inherit the land. We Democrats believe in something else. We Democrats believe that we can make it all the way with the whole family intact. And we have, more than once. [ INAUDIBLE ] [ APPLAUSE ] [ NOISE ] Ever since Franklin Roosevelt lifted himself from his wheelchair to lift this nation from its knees. Wagon train after wagon train, to new frontiers of education, housing, peace, the whole family aboard. Constantly reaching out to extend and enlarge that family, lifting them up into the wagon on the way. Blacks, and Hispanics, and people of every ethnic group, and Native Americans. All those struggling to build their families and claim some small share of America. We democrats must unite. [ APPLAUSE ] We democrats must unite so that the entire nation can unite. Because surely the republicans won't bring this country together. Their policies divide the nation into the lucky and the left out. And to the royalty and the rabble. The Republicans are willing to treat that division as victory. They would cut this nation in half. And to those temporarily better off, and those worst off than before. And they would call that division recovery. Now [ APPLAUSE ] These Democrats believe we must be the family of America, recognizing that at the heart of the matter, we are bound one to another. That the problems of a retired school teacher in Duluth are our problems, that the future of the child. That the future of the child in Buffalo is our future. That the struggle of a disabled man in Boston to survive and live decently is our struggle. That the hunger of a woman in Little Rock is our hunger. That the failure anywhere to provide what reasonably we might to avoid pain is our fail. Here. And I ask you now, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters. For the good of all of us, for the love of this great nation, for the family of America, for the love of God, please make this nation remember. How futures are built. Thank you and God bless you. [ APPLAUSE ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3651726/mario-cuomo-dead-new-york-governor/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3651726/mario-cuomo-dead-new-york-governor/"},"headline":"Mario Cuomo, Former New York Governor and Liberal Icon, Dies at 82","datePublished":"2015-01-02T01:42:34.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T20:46:24.000Z","description":"Cuomo died just hours after his son was inaugurated to a second term as governor","url":"https://time.com/3651726/mario-cuomo-dead-new-york-governor/","keywords":["People"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2603e0e7eb823b40/698777d7f887dc52e2e894a4/mario-cuomo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Hirschhorn","jobTitle":"","url":"https://time.com/author/dan-hirschhorn/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt2603e0e7eb823b40/698777d7f887dc52e2e894a4/mario-cuomo.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"New York Governor Mario Cuomo delivers the keynote speech at the '84 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.","caption":"New York Governor Mario Cuomo delivers the keynote speech at the '84 Democratic National Convention in San Francisco.","creditText":"Wally McNamee—Corbis","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3651726/mario-cuomo-dead-new-york-governor/","name":"Mario Cuomo, Former New York Governor and Liberal Icon, Dies at 82"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Mario Cuomo Dies At 82","description":"Mario Cuomo has died at the age of 82. The former New York governor and father of the state’s current governor, Andrew Cuomo, was an iconic Democratic figure who rebuked multiple chances at a presidential run.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/nNQA0zOl/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-02T18:45:52.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/nNQA0zOl.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3651726/mario-cuomo-dead-new-york-governor/","duration":"PT1M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3651726/mario-cuomo-dead-new-york-governor/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Mario Cuomo's 1984 Convention Speech","description":"Watch Mario Cuomo's landmark 1984 Convention Speech on equality.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/t6RLC29o/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-02T03:47:33.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/t6RLC29o.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3651726/mario-cuomo-dead-new-york-governor/","duration":"PT7M35S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3651726/mario-cuomo-dead-new-york-governor/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```