Syracuse, N.Y. -- Buffalo native Kathy Hochul will be New York’s first female governor.
The Syracuse University graduate is taking over the state as Gov. Andrew Cuomo steps down in the wake of a sexual harassment scandal. Hochul has vowed to run for a full term in 2022.
“I’m the most prepared person for this,” she says.
She’s the first Upstate governor in a century, and she’s taking over as New York and the nation face the continuing crises caused by the coronavirus, rising violence in cities and an uncertain economy. She also will face competition from fellow Democrats who are eyeing their own shot at being governor.
When she takes over in late August, she’ll become the 57th governor with just 16 months left in her term.
Hochul, 62, has been in public service almost continuously since the mid-1990s. After becoming a student activist and politician on SU’s campus, she began serving on the Hamburg Town Board in 1994. From there, she became Erie County Clerk, won and lost a seat in Congress, and won two terms as lieutenant governor.
“Her coming up through town government and being in Congress – she might be more open to working in a collaborative manner,” Assemblyman Will Barclay, R-Pulaski, said.
That contrasts widely with Cuomo’s political career. He worked for his father, Gov. Mario Cuomo, as a young adult before becoming secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. He was New York’s attorney general before being elected as governor three times.
She’s seen by many as a centrist. The Democrat was once endorsed by the National Rifle Association. But she’s moved more toward the left since running statewide for the lieutenant governor spot in 2014.
As Cuomo’s No. 2, she was kept out of his inner circle and was not a policy-making partner. Instead, her job was to criss-cross the state, serving as a surrogate and cheerleader for Cuomo and his policies.
“I’ve been the chief spokesman for this administration,” Hochul said.
That won her some respect from local leaders. In her they see someone who listens, who cares and who will fight for what she believes.
“She comes with an Upstate perspective,” Sen. John Mannion, D-Geddes, said. “She’s lived it.”
As a student at SU, she had some notable confrontations with the administration. She helped organize a boycott of the school bookstore to protest high prices, an effort that brought changes. She and others campaigned to have the Carrier Dome named after Ernie Davis. They lost.
After Cuomo announced his resignation, Hochul repeatedly said she didn’t know about the harassing behavior described in Attorney General Letitia James’s report.
“I’ve not been in the rooms when it happened,” Hochul said, adding that she was sickened that women had to work in such an environment. “I spend very little time in Albany except when I’m presiding over the Senate.”
Cuomo has denied any intentional wrongdoing.
Hochul has pledged to create a safe workplace, free from the toxic reputation sometimes associated with the Cuomo administration. Anyone accused of inappropriate behavior in James’s report will not serve in Hochul’s administration, she says.
“I know New Yorkers,” she said. “They are hard wired to persevere and prevail. I will fight like hell for you every single day.”
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