Hochul to become NY’s first female governor

ALBANY, N.Y. >> Kathy Hochul was set to become the first female governor of New York at the stroke of midnight, taking control of a state government desperate to get back to business after months of distractions over sexual harassment allegations against Andrew Cuomo.

The Democrat from western New York was to be sworn in as governor in the first minutes of Tuesday in a brief, private ceremony overseen by the state’s chief judge, Janet DiFiore.

Her ascent to the top job will be a history-making moment in a capital where women have only recently begun chipping away at what was long a male-dominated political culture.

Cuomo was expected to leave office at 11:59 p.m., just under two weeks after he announced he would resign rather than face a likely impeachment battle. On his final day in office, he released a pre-recorded farewell address in which he defended his record over a decade as New York’s governor and portrayed himself as the victim of a “media frenzy.”