Scaring All the Right People
by Myriam Gurba
Lindsey Boylan inspires me. She first came to my attention on February 24, 2021, when she emerged as a whistleblower in the wake of the #MeToo movement. That Wednesday morning, I sat at my kitchen table, furiously reading “My Story of Working with Governor Cuomo,” a calm and devastating essay published to Medium that details Boylan’s experience of workplace sexual harassment, and how it was normalized by her colleagues.
“There is a part of me that will never forgive myself for being a victim for so long, for trying to ignore behavior that I knew was wrong,” Boylan wrote. “The Governor exploited my weaknesses, my desire to do good work and to be respected. I was made to believe this was the world I needed to survive in… I hope that sharing my story will clear the path for other women to do the same.”
Since then, Boylan has devoted herself to a righteous cause: ensuring that Andrew Cuomo, her former abuser, remains far away from the levers of governmental power. Her efforts have helped to yield impressive results; despite Cuomo’s name recognition staking him to a large early lead in the polling for New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, the former governor lost to Zohran Mamdani by a 12-point margin.
I spoke with Boylan about her participation in the mayoral race, the media’s treatment of survivors, institutional betrayal, and political myths regarding sexual violence. Our conversation has been lightly edited.
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