Mario Matthew Cuomo (born 1932) was a progressive Democrat governor of New York state from 1982 to 1994. He emphasized lower taxes, balanced budgets, public education, and affirmative action, as well as a government-private sector partnership for economic progress. He was often mentioned as a possible Democratic candidate for president.

Mario Matthew Cuomo was born on June 15, 1932, in New York City. His parents, Andrea and Immaculata (Giordano) Cuomo, had immigrated from Salerno, Italy, in the late 1920s. His father dug and cleaned sewers and by 1931 had saved enough to open an Italian-American grocery store in the South Jamaica section of Queens, a borough of New York City. Cuomo was born in the family's apartment above the store. He was the youngest of three children; he had a brother and a sister. He spent much of his early life watching his parents work incredibly hard and absorbing their values of respect for...