Huge challenges for state’s first female governor
ALBANY, N.Y. — Kathy Hochul, a former congresswoman from Buffalo, became the 57th governor of New York early Tuesday, making history as the first woman to ascend to the state’s highest office.
She was sworn in shortly after 10 a.m. in the state Capitol by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore, in a ceremonial event in the building’s ornate Red Room, hours after she was officially sworn in at a private ceremony just after midnight. Her ascension capped a whirlwind chain of events that followed a series of sexual harassment allegations made against the outgoing governor, Andrew Cuomo.
Hochul, 62, assumes office three weeks after a state attorney general investigation concluded that Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women. A week later, Cuomo announced his resignation, bringing his 10-year reign to an abrupt end.
Hochul, a Democrat, has vowed to lead the state through a still surging pandemic and economic uncertainty, while ushering in a new era of civility and consensus in state government.
“I want people to believe in their government again,” Hochul said during a brief news conference shortly after she was sworn in. “Our strength comes from the faith and the confidence of the people who put us in these offices, and I take that very seriously.”
Almost immediately, Hochul will have to juggle various pressing issues, from working with lawmakers to strengthen an eviction moratorium that expires later this month to deciding who to retain from Cuomo’s Cabinet. She is still recruiting her top staff — she announced her top aide and legal counsel Monday — and will announce her selection for lieutenant governor later this week.
Hochul will have to act decisively to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus delta variant.
In doing so, she will have to determine how much to veer from Cuomo’s pandemic response, which local government leaders have often criticized for its lack of communication and coordination.