Pressure is mounting on New York Governor Kathy Hochul after Lindsay Boylan, who was the first woman to publicly accuse former Governor Andrew Cuomo of sexual harassment, called her 'shameful' for failing to call for the SUNY chancellor's resignation.
Jim Malatras has been facing an increasing number of calls to resign from his $450,000-a-year post for the state university system after text messages last week revealed that he was part of a bullying campaign against Boylan when he was a member of Cuomo's Executive Chamber.
Malatras sent texts in 2019 after Boylan accused then-Governor Cuomo of fostering bullying in the workplace, and went on to claim he was a sex pest.
Boylan, 37, also accused the governor of sexual misconduct in February of last year and her recent comment comes a week after the bombshell release of the transcript from the university state system chancellor, revealing his profane messages against her.
In a tweet shared today, Boylan wrote: 'This is shameful @KathyHochul - particularly since you and your staff know exactly who @jimmyaltras is and the harm he has done to so many.'
In a follow-up tweet, she added: 'You know better. You're just not doing better.'
Gov Kathy Hochul (left) refused to force turmoiled SUNY Chancellor James Malatras — a confidante of disgraced ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo — to resign, which prompted Lindsay Boylan, who was the first woman to publicly accuse Cuomo of sexual harassment, to describe her as 'shameful'
In a tweet shared today, Boylan called New York Governor Kathy Hochul 'shameful' for keeping James Malatras on as chancellor of SUNY despite calls for his resignation
In a follow up tweet, Boylan wrote a one-liner intended for Hochul, reading: 'You know better. You're just not doing better.'
Students and employees at the State University of New York, as well as some state politicians are calling on Jim Malatras, chancellor of SUNY to resign
The texts were revealed by New York Attorney General Letitia James last week as part of the same tranche of documents that resulted in Chris Cuomo's firing from his CNN show for helping defend his brother's reputation.
Boylan, after leaving the administration, tweeted in 2019 that working in politics had been 'a toxic and demoralizing experience.'
At the time, she had yet to go public with her sexual harassment allegations against the governor.
Lindsay Boylan, pictures as she gave sexual harassment testimony regarding former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo
After Boylan called him out in a series of tweets, Malatras texted to the group: 'Malatras to Boylan: Go f**k yourself.'
Malatras also forwarded Cuomo aides a picture of a nuclear explosion with the word 'kaboom' as he discussed Boylan.
One year later, Cuomo's team released portions of Boylan's personnel file to try to discount her claims of harassment.
The SUNY Student Assembly on Friday called for the trustees to remove Malatras with a vote of no confidence.
'Allowing the chancellor to remain in place damages the reputation of the system, detracting from our education and devaluing the degrees we are all working towards,' the group, which represents students in SUNY governance, said.
Boylan backed the students in a tweet today, saying: 'I cannot get over the fact that the largest high education system in the country is run by someone who retaliated against & belittled me when I was spoke up about the toxic work environment I faced working for the former governor.'
'What message does this send to students?', she added.
Boylan questioned the message that was sent out to students protesting against keeping Malatras as chancellor of SUNY after Hochul gave him a lifeline last week
Newly-released texts from CNN host Chris Cuomo (right) reveal he helped strategize brother Andrew Cuomo's (left) response to the sexual harassment scandal earlier this year. He has been fired from his job as a result
SUNY Chancellor Jim Malatras who was a former aide to Governor Cuomo suggested in a text message 'Let's release some of her cray emails!'
The text messaging group had been given the title: 'Somehow, we're in charge'
Calls come after New York attorney general released old text messages that showed Malatras (left) mocking Boyden, who worked under Andrew Cuomo's (right) administration
In a statement Friday, Malatras said he owed Boylan and the SUNY community an apology.
'Leadership in public service is a privilege and with it comes immense responsibility for upholding the values of professionalism, decency, and respect. I take that responsibility very seriously and in recent days it has been clear I have fallen short,' he wrote, calling his remarks 'inappropriate, disrespectful and wrong.'
