Kathy Hochul, Cuomo's No. 2, Quietly Prepares to Step Into the Limelight
Kathy Hochul, Cuomo’s No. 2, Quietly Prepares to Step Into the Limelight
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/08/nyregion/cuomo-kathy-hochul.html
After working mostly in the background since joining Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s team in 2014, Ms. Hochul is poised to replace him if he steps down or is forced out.
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If Kathy Hochul, 62, replaces Gov. Andrew Cuomo, she will become the first woman to lead New York State.Credit...Seth Wenig/Associated Press
Dana Rubinstein
By Dana Rubinstein
Aug. 8, 2021
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Mr. Cuomo has a long and deserved reputation for governing by brute force and fear, alienating countless people through his tactics of bullying and intimidation. Ms. Hochul, in contrast, has established deep reservoirs of political good will, spending much of her tenure on the road, highlighting the administration’s agenda and engaging in extensive on-the-ground politicking.
She has taken pride in visiting each of New York’s 62 counties each year and has friends across the state. In a typically frenetic week in September 2019, Ms. Hochul had two appearances in Brooklyn, one in Manhattan, four in Niagara Falls, one in Lockport, another in Pendleton, three in Buffalo, four in Rochester, two in Binghamton and one in Cortland.
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But behind the scenes, Ms. Hochul, a Democrat, has been preparing for what may well be the inevitable, consulting with her longstanding circle of advisers, and familiarizing herself with the minutiae of the transition process, should Mr. Cuomo resign or be impeached, according to an administration official. (If Mr. Cuomo is impeached by the State Assembly, he must hand the reins of government to Ms. Hochul while he faces trial in the State Senate.)
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In 2011, she scored a monumental upset in a special election in one of New York’s most conservative Congressional districts, skillfully seizing on voters’ fears that Republicans would eradicate Medicare. By the following year, after a redistricting that made her district even more conservative, she was out. She was defeated by Chris Collins, a Republican who would leave office in disgrace, ultimately pleading guilty in 2019 to charges of making false statements to the F.B.I. and to conspiring to commit securities fraud. President Donald J. Trump later pardoned him.
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The Lieutenant Governor has been quoted as saying “everyone’s voice will be heard and taken seriously,” and that New Yorkers would “soon learn the facts.”
Lt Gov Hochul also made a statement describing “repulsive and unlawful behavior” in the report on Gov Cuomo.
It's been noted that Mr. Cuomo and Ms. Hochul have not spoken since February.
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