Who is Kathy Hochul? Meet Andrew Cuomo’s follower as NY guv

Kathy Hochul, New York’s lieutenant guv, was catapulted into the nationwide spotlight Tuesday when Gov. Andrew Cuomo quickly revealed his resignation amidst a growing unwanted sexual advances scandal.

In 2 weeks, Hochul will end up being the very first lady ever to lead the state of New York, when Cuomo’s resignation works and she presumes the workplace.

Hochul, 62, is reasonably unidentified beyond New York political circles, and she is definitely not a family name like her predecessor.

But individuals who understand Hochul state the previous congresswoman is prepared for the task. Hochul stated on Tuesday that she is prepared to lead New York, which is still fighting the Covid pandemic and remains in the middle of a delicate financial healing.

“I agree with Governor Cuomo’s decision to step down. It is the right thing to do and in the best interest of New Yorkers,” she said in a Twitter post.

“As someone who has served at all levels of government and is next in the line of succession, I am prepared to lead as New York State’s 57th Governor,” she stated. 

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday stated he talked to Hochul and has “full confidence” that she will develop a “professional and capable administration.” New York’s junior U.S. senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, stated Hochul will be an “extraordinary governor.”

“She understands the complexities and needs of our state having been both a congresswoman, and having been lieutenant governor for the last several years,” Gillibrand stated.

“She is ready and able and capable of being an extraordinary governor, and I look forward to supporting her and helping her as she turns towards governing our state, in a very difficult and challenging time,” the senator stated.

White House press secretary Jen Psaki stated on Tuesday that President Joe Biden has actually not yet talked with Hochul however the administration anticipates dealing with her. Biden is anticipated to consult with her “in the coming days,” a senior White House main informed NBC News.

Since very first signing up with the Cuomo group in 2014, Hochul has actually taken a function for herself as a sort of counterweight to Cuomo.

Where he chooses to work out of his workplace in New York City, Hochul has actually maintained a mad travel schedule throughout the state for several years, often making 5 stops a day, according to a current profile in The New York Times. Hochul has actually taken a trip to all 62 counties in the state every year throughout her period.

Hochul and Cuomo have barely any individual or expert relationship and she has actually not talked to him considering that February, the Times profile stated. Last week she called the claims versus him by 11 females “repulsive and unlawful.” 

“Sexual harassment is unacceptable in any workplace, and certainly not in public service,” Hochul said in a Twitter post. 

Hochul was no complete stranger to politics prior to she ended up being the 2nd lieutenant guv of Cuomo’s 3 terms. 

She acted as an assistant to Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan and later on held regional positions, consisting of on the town board in Hamburg, which remains in the western part of New York, and as the clerk of Erie County, according to her project site. 

In 2011, Hochul was chosen to Congress in a mostly Republican district that covered from Buffalo to Rochester, according to the Times profile. 

Hochul ended up being the very first Democrat to represent the district in 40 years, and her success was deemed a referendum on Republican prepares led by Paul Ryan, the previous speaker of the House of Representatives, to insolvent Medicare, according to her project site.

After Hochul was beat in her project for reelection to Congress in 2012, she was tapped by Cuomo to be his running mate throughout his very first reelection project as guv.

Hochul has actually highlighted a number of policy top priorities as lieutenant guv, consisting of the problems of gender and financial inequality.

She functions as the chair of the state’s local financial advancement council and the Women’s Suffrage Commission and has actually led a few of the guv’s advocacy projects, such as the “Enough is Enough” sexual attack avoidance program, according to her project site.