When the New York governor, Andrew Cuomo, leaves office in 14 days time after resigning over allegations that he sexually harassed at least 11 women, the state will finally get its first female governor.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul, 62, has served in her post since 2015. Now, she will take over as New York’s top politician in just two weeks time, Cuomo announced suddenly on Tuesday.
Hochul, considered a centrist Democrat, got her start in politics working in local government, serving in offices like Eriecounty clerk before winning a special election for state congress in her hometown district. However, her time as a congresswoman was short-lived, and she lost to Republican Chris Collins the following year.
As lieutenant governor, the Buffalo-raised politician has rarely sought the spotlight and maintained a characteristic distance from her boss. In recent months, as scrutiny around Cuomo intensified over his treatment of women and accusations that his administration intentionally downplayed the true number of New York nursing home deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic, Hochul further separated herself from him.
She called his behavior toward women “repulsive” in the wake of a report from the state attorney general released last week, which detailed allegations that he had sexually harassed 11 women.
“Sexual harassment is unacceptable in any workplace, and certainly not in public service,” Hochul said in an early August statement, according to the New York Times. “The attorney general’s investigation has documented repulsive and unlawful behavior by the governor towards multiple women … No one is above the law.”
Since then, Hochul has reportedly been seeking advice about how to handle filling Cuomo’s shoes. She has been considering how she would approach the office, which employees she might keep and whom she might hire, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Hochul is known for traveling to all of the state’s 62 counties every year and touts her pro-women bonafides on her website. She previously helped lead Cuomo’s “Enough is Enough” campaign against sexual violence on college campuses.
“Kathy has consistently placed issues that are important to women on the top of her agenda. Traveling the state, she has leveraged her position as the highest ranking female official in state government to encourage women to be an active voice for change,” says Hochul’s website.
Some influential labor groups have already started expressing their support for a Hochul administration.
“We are fortunate to have a lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul, who is ready to lead with integrity and continue building on the advancements that New York has made towards greater economic, racial and social justice,” said a recent statement from the New York State Nurses Association.
Hochul came up in a predominantly Republican district, and in 2007, when serving as the Erie county clerk, took a firm stand against then governor Eliot Spitzer’s proposal to issue drivers licenses to undocumented immigrants. At the time, Hochul said she would arrest undocumented people who applied for licenses. In 2018, Hochul walked back those statements, noting that “it is a whole different era out there”.
“I was an elected official in Erie county, and I represented the people of that district,” Hochul told reporters in 2018, according to Politico. “That was 11 years ago, and there were very few people saying that was the right policy at the time.”
Supporters of Hochul say she is known for her incorrigible work ethic and ability to charm leaders and voters alike.
“She visited not only every county in New York State, but every town and village and every borough in New York City,” said former representative John J LaFalce in an interview with the Buffalo News. “And in every single instance, when she left, people liked her.”