Andrew Cuomo Will Run for Governor

NEW YORK (AP) â€” It worked for George W. Bush: The son of a vanquished politician wins back the seat eight years later. Now, Andrew Cuomo is hoping he can do the same thing. <br><br>At a star-studded

Tuesday, January 30th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

NEW YORK (AP) â€” It worked for George W. Bush: The son of a vanquished politician wins back the seat eight years later. Now, Andrew Cuomo is hoping he can do the same thing.

At a star-studded party Monday, the younger Cuomo announced plans to run in 2002 for the job his father, Mario, used to hold.

The 43-year-old Cuomo, who lost his job as federal housing secretary on Jan. 20 with the departure of the Clinton administration, said, promised ``a campaign of ideas.''

``It's going to be a positive campaign,'' he said. ``It's going to be an inclusive campaign ... and it's going to be a campaign that is fun.''

Said his 68-year-old father: ``I think it's going to be a very exciting race. Maybe for the first time in a long time, it'll be a really productive race.''

It was in 1994 that Gov. George Pataki, a Republican, thwarted Mario Cuomo's attempt to win a fourth term.

Pataki has said he will likely run for a third term in 2002. He declined to comment on Cuomo's announcement, except to say that he doesn't like ``the concept of a perpetual campaign. There will be plenty of time for electioneering.''

Polls show Pataki ahead of both Cuomo and state Comptroller H. Carl McCall, who is also expected to seek the Democratic nomination for governor next year. Boosted by his strong name recognition, Cuomo has been slightly ahead of McCall, the only black ever elected statewide in New York, in the polls.

But McCall has already raised more than $2 million and has picked up the support of many of the state's top Democrats, including state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and Rep. Charles Rangel.

Responding to Cuomo's announcement, McCall campaign spokesman Shawn Thompson referred to Cuomo's years in Washington with the Clinton administration. ``We wish Secretary Cuomo well as he tries to reacquaint himself with the issues in New York,'' Thompson said. ``If he pursues this, we'll just have to beat him.''

Cuomo's party was to have been held in the home of Democratic fund-raiser Denise Rich, ex-wife of former fugitive financier Marc Rich. Those plans were scrapped last week in the wake of the controversy over President Clinton's last-day pardon of Rich. Denise Rich, who had written Clinton in support of the pardon, said she didn't want to become a distraction.

Cuomo's wife, Kerry, is a daughter of the late New York Sen. Robert F. Kennedy. Celebrity hosts for the party included Caroline Kennedy, Cuomo's cousin-in-law, and rap music impresario Russell Simmons, a leader of last year's ``Rap the Vote 2000'' effort.

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On the Web:

McCall bio: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/about/bio.htm

Cuomo bio: http://www.hud.gov/cuomo.cfm