Former NY Governor Mario Cuomo

Cuomo rose to national prominence based on his speech at the 1984 Democratic National Convention, the Times Union reports, a rebuttal to President Reagan's famous "Shining City on a Hill" speech.

Ten days ago, President Reagan admitted that although some people in this country seemed 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 and the veranda of his ranch, where everyone seems to be doing well. But there's another city; there's another part to the shining the 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 the dreams they hold for their children evaporate.

He's survived by Matilda Raffa Cuomo, his wife of 60 years, as well as five children and 14 grandchildren, the family said in a statement.

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