Waiting in the wings
Lt. Gov. Hochul praised for her ability to connect.
If Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo were to resign or be impeached, the potential first female governor of New York is waiting in the wings.
Kathleen C. Hochul, 62, has served as New York’s lieutenant governor since 2015, the beginning of Cuomo’s second term in office.
Hochul's first big break in politics involved a politician whose career was enveloped by scandal.
In 2011, she staged a surprise win in a four-way special election for Congress in a Western New York district, becoming the first Democrat to hold the seat in four decades. She succeeded Republican Chris Lee, who resigned from Congress hours after the now-defunct gossip website Gawker reported that the married lawmaker had sent flirtatious emails and a shirtless photo of himself to a woman he met online.
In 2012, Hochul lost her reelection bid after her district was substantially redrawn to favor Republicans during that year’s redistricting process.
Hochul was born in the city of Lackawanna in Erie County. Her father worked at a steel plant and went to college at night. He started married life in a trailer, and eventually rose up to lead a company.
Hochul, who has credited her family with instilling a sense of public service, received her bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University and attended law school at Catholic University in Washington, D.C.
After working at a Washington law firm, Hochul decided to enter public service and worked for Buffalo-area U.S. Rep. John Lafalce and U.S. Sen. Daniel Moynihan before taking a staff position with the state Assembly.
In 1994, Hochul was elected to the Hamburg Town Board, where she served until 2007, the year she was appointed to fill the vacant position of Erie County Clerk. She then ran for Congress.
In 2014, Robert Duffy, who served as Cuomo’s lieutenant governor during his first term, announced that he would not be part of that year’s re-election ticket. He was replaced by Hochul, despite grumbling from some on the left flank of the party who pointed to her earlier, more conservative stances on immigrant rights (as county clerk, she opposed driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants) and gun control.
As lieutenant governor — typically a low-profile job that often consists of attending ribbon-cuttings — Hochul has had several substantial roles.
She has led Cuomo’s 10 regional economic development councils, chaired a task force on heroin and opioid abuse and addiction, and led the governor's “Enough is Enough” campaign to combat sexual assault on college campuses. She is married to William Hochul, the former U.S. attorney for the Western District of New York, who is now in private practice. They are the parents of two children.
Jeremy Zellner, the chair of the Erie County Democratic Party, has known Hochul for two decades. He said she possessed a unique ability to connect with New Yorkers, whether in urban or rural settings — retail political skills she demonstrated during her long-shot 2011 congressional win. She's well known among Democratic Party officials and has traveled the state building contacts as Cuomo's lieutenant governor.
“Is she ready for the job? She's worked on the local, state and federal levels and understands how to deliver for the community,” Zellner said. “She's lived a life where she understands people's struggles and concerns, and can figure out solutions to them.”