Local officials express their confidence about connections with Hochul
ALBANY, N.Y. >> Whether it’s a lieutenant governor or a backup quarterback, one never truly appreciates their importance until they are pressed into action.
Much like Frank Reich, Gov. Kathy Hochul, of Buffalo, will attempt to circle the wagons and lead New York state as its 57th governor and historically its first woman governor. Hochul, who will celebrate her 63rd birthday on Friday, takes charge of a state looking to move forward from the turmoil of departing Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned Monday before the stroke of midnight.
After being sworn in at 12:01 a.m., Hochul also had a swearing-in ceremony at 10 a.m. in the Red Room at the State Capitol. Accompanied by family, Hochul pledged to restore people’s faith and confidence in elected officials, proclaiming, “I want people to believe in their government again.” In an address later to New Yorkers, Hochul also noted some initial key priorities such as battling COVID-19, providing more rent relief, and creating more transparency in government.
While New Yorkers may not be as familiar with her, the same cannot be said of Hochul and her relationships across the Empire State. As Lt. Gov., Hochul took the old Pete Seeger Erie Canal tune to heart. She knows every inch of the way, from Albany to Buffalo and beyond, regularly visiting all 62 counties.
Hence, Capital Region leaders appear confident that Hochul will hone those connections and foster a more compassionate and competent New York moving forward.
In the New York State Senate, Sen. Neil Breslin, DBethlehem, spoke to the historic nature of Hochul’s ascension to the governorship.
“I think it’s a very bright day for New Yorkers to put the past several months behind us and to have the first woman governor, who is bright, experienced beyond belief and I believe she’ll be able to hit the ground running and be able to accomplish and complete goals set out by the prior governor and goals set out by the legislature,” Breslin remarked on the magnitude of the day.
“Overall to have a woman governor from upstate who’s experienced in going from city to village to town throughout the state gives me a tremendous comfort level that she can identify the problems of the common people, not the millionaires but the people who we interact with on a daily basis,” Breslin continued on Hochul’s ability to connect.
“I view her as a moderate, I’ve watched her preside over the Senate for the last several years and she never makes a mistake. So, I look forward to working with her in the coming years to make sure that New York continues to be the best state in the country,” Breslin added on his expectations for the future of the state with Hochul at the helm.
Breslin’s colleague, Sen. Daphne Jordan, R- Halfmoon, and Sen. Jim Tedisco, R-Glenville, also commented on the historic new chapter in New York government.
“Congratulations to New York State Governor Kathy Hochul on making history! I look forward to working with Governor Hochul to move our state forward. I’m praying for her success because I want our state — and all New Yorkers — to succeed. With her deep Upstate roots, I’m hopeful that Governor Hochul will make advancing an agenda that helps upstate, and recognizes our unique challenges and opportunities, a top, bipartisan priority. We have much work to do: it’s time to write a positive, new chapter — and create a brighter future — for New York state,” Jordan stated in hopes that Hochul will be more attune to the needs of upstate.
“It’s a good day in New York and a new beginning for all New Yorkers because our previous governor’s reign of terror has ended and we have Kathy Hochul as our state’s first female governor,” Tedisco added. “It’s especially exciting as we have broken the glass ceiling with having New York’s first female governor in place. While I’m encouraged that Governor Hochul is from Upstate and understands our needs, I hope she will have the fortitude to stand up to the powerful downstate elements that control our legislature
when Upstate’s interests are threatened.
“I’m disappointed that in her first day as Governor she chose to only meet with the Speaker and Senate Majority Leader and not extend an olive branch to the two Minority Conference Leaders who collectively represent over six million New Yorkers and hope she will do better moving forward. It shouldn’t just be three people in a room deciding the destinies of 20 million New Yorkers. We all want the Governor to be successful and want to help her be successful but when she’s doing things that could hurt the entire state, including Upstate, from being a better place to live, work and raise a family then we will stand up for our constituents and call her out on it.”
In the Assembly, Assemblywoman Mary Beth Walsh, R- Ballston, reiterated Hochul’s sentiments on the need to restore trust in government in tackling the issues of the day for New Yorkers.
“Congratulations to New York’s first female Governor, Kathy Hochul, who has an opportunity to set a vastly more collaborative and constructive tone during her tenure in office. On day one, Hochul has stated that one of her primary focuses will be to help New Yorkers ‘believe in government again’ — and I couldn’t agree more with that sentiment,” Walsh stated.
“I have already extended my best wishes to our incoming governor, along with my sincere desire to work across the aisle for the betterment of my Upstate community, as well as all New Yorkers,” Walsh added.
Walsh’s colleague Jake Ashby, R-Castleton, echoed those sentiments on restoring faith in government as well.
“I look forward to working with our newly swornin governor, Kathy Hochul. I am eager to work with her to support our veterans, local small businesses and communities as we continue to rebuild after the pandemic, and to restore public trust in New York government,” Ashby stated.
Assemblywoman Carrie Woerner, D-Round Lake, also expressed her confidence in Hochul’s leadership abilities moving forward.
“I extend my congratulations to the 57th Governor and first woman Governor of the great State of New York, Kathy Hochul. I am confident that Governor Hochul’s leadership style, her experience working at all levels of government, and her extensive work across the entire state will deliver results for the people in my Assembly District and across the state,” Woerner stated.
Assemblyman John T. McDonald III, D-Cohoes, outlined some of the priorities he hopes Gov. Hochul will prioritize, including, ERAP funds, JCOPE reform, bail reform, public health, local government autonomy, and the opioid/
heroin crisis.
“Kathy Hochul is now the 57th Governor to lead the state of New York. She is also the first woman to hold that position and if all goes well over the next 16 months she may become the first woman elected as Governor of New York State. Exciting times for sure but also surreal as well,” McDonald stated.
“By surreal we have to be open and honest about what she is literally walking into. First of all, COVID-19 is far from over and there will be many difficult decisions to be made with the understanding that the decisions at times will be what is the best in a bad situation,” McDonald continued.
“There are many more areas to add to priorities. Housing, child care, health care disparities, workforce development, education funding, higher education affordability, and much, much more. Needless to say the Governor, with the Legislature as a partner, has much to do and I look forward to the work ahead with a willing partner!” McDonald added on the partnership between the two branches in the future.
Speaking of the local governments McDonald alluded to, a handful of local leaders shared their thoughts and hopes on the new governor.
“While today marks a new chapter with the swearing-in of Governor Kathy Hochul — making history as New York’s first female governor — we continue to face the same daunting challenges as before. COVID-19 and the Delta variant are still a threat to the health of our people and our full economic recovery. Parents are looking to the state for guidance as they prepare to send their children back to school. Tenants and landlords continue to wait for the release of desperately needed emergency rental assistance funds. And Tropical Storm Henri is just the most recent reminder of the damaging effects of climate change,” Albany County Executive Daniel McCoy stated.
“Addressing these issues and so many others will be no easy task, but Governor Hochul has proven her commitment to the people
of New York during her time in office and has the knowledge and experience needed to lead us through the storm. I look forward to continuing to work with her and her administration as I have over the last six years so that we can move New York forward,” Hochul added.
From one county executive to another, Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin expressed hope for Hochul providing a fresh new start and more responsive communication than the prior administration.
“We welcome and congratulate Kathy Hochul on becoming the state’s 57th Governor, and on becoming the first woman to serve as Governor. She takes office at a crucial time in our state’s history, and we recognize this fact and invite her to partner with us in Rensselaer County on issues that now face our residents,” McLaughlin stated.
“New York State is dealing with a migration of residents,
with one million of our neighbors leaving to find opportunity and homes elsewhere. That cannot continue. The previous Governor refused to acknowledge this fact. We hope that Governor Hochul coming from an upstate community will allow her to be responsive to the issues facing residents and businesses in upstate,” McLaughlin added.
To that end, at City Hall, Troy Mayor Patrick Madden remarked on the solid ties Hochul has made in her visits to the Collar City during her time as Lt. Gov.
“The City of Troy is fortunate to have a strong relationship with Governor Hochul who has been a familiar face to many in our community during the last six and a half years. The new Governor brings extensive experience in local government and a strong appreciation for the challenges cities, towns and villages contend with on a daily basis. I have tremendous confidence in Governor Hochul’s ability to lead our state and fight for communities like Troy, and look forward to working closely with her and her administration to build a stronger future for the Collar City and New York State,” Madden commented.
Also at City Hall, Troy City Council President Carmella Mantello, passionate about all things Erie Canal and Buffalo Bills in her own right, weighed in on the historic nature of the day.
“This is truly a historic day in New York State with the swearing-in of our first female Governor, Kathy Hochul. Governor Hochul who was a local official understands the challenges and needs of local municipalities, and I look forward to partnering with the Governor to move the City of Troy and Capital Region forward. Congratulations Governor Hochul and let’s go Buffalo!” Mantello exclaimed.
Leaders in the business and education world also chimed in on the significance of having Hochul as governor.
Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce President Todd Shimkus noted a recent visit made by Hochul to the Spa City.
“Governor Hochul was at SPAC and the track a couple of weeks ago. She spoke glowingly about both venues and how much she loves Saratoga. We’re very excited for the new doors that are likely to open with her in charge of our state government. We’re already making plans to see if she might be willing to help us with our proposals to improve passenger rail service with the region and to help our local businesses who are still trying to recover from the pandemic,” Shimkus commented on working with Hochul to continue to expand Saratoga County’s economic foothold.
With schools welcoming back students, SUNY Board of Trustees and Chancellor Jim Malatras also welcomed the opportunity to work with Hochul and strengthen the SUNY system.
“On behalf of all our campuses at the State University of New York, we congratulate Governor Kathy Hochul on being sworn in as the 57th Governor of New York State and making history as the first woman to serve,” Malatras stated. “Throughout her career in public service, Kathy Hochul has been a strong and fierce advocate for higher education and how access and opportunity to quality public education can provide the pathway needed for success—especially meeting workforce demands and breaking down barriers for students in need of quality child care.
“As Lt. Governor, she brought the same passion and commitment to many of our campuses and routinely inspired our leadership, staff, and countless students with every visit. We look forward to continuing to collaborate with Governor Hochul as we work together to educate and train the next generation of highly skilled workers and researchers, and strengthen our 64 SUNY campuses with a unified vision of access, affordability, equity, and meeting the educational and social needs of the people of New York.”