The democrat from western New York, Kathy Hochul, became the first-ever female governor in a short, private ceremony in New York State Capitol overseen by the state’s Chief Judge, Janet DiFiore, at the state capitol in Albany.
After that, she told WGRZ, a buffalo television station, she felt “ the weight of responsibility “ on her shoulders. She added:
“I’ll tell New Yorkers. I’m up to the task and I’m really proud to be able to serve as their governor and I won’t let them down.”
Hochul said in an afternoon speech that she was directing state health officials to make masks mandatory for anyone entering public or private schools. She said her administration would also require that all school staff be vaccinated or undergo weekly COVID-19 testing statewide.
Hochul said:
“None of us want a rerun of last year’s horrors with COVID-19. Therefore we will take proactive steps to prevent that from happening.”
She said she's readying the state to distribute vaccine booster shots when they become widely available, including possibly reopening mass inoculation sites. And she said New Yorkers “can expect new vaccine requirements,” though she didn't specify what those might be.“More on that soon,” she said. Hochul promised a “fresh, collaborative approach” to the government at the ceremonial swearing-in later Tuesday morning at the State Capitol.
She said she had already begun speaking with other Democratic leaders who have, for years, complained about being shut out of critical decisions and of being bullied by Cuomo, including New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.
After the report corroborated that ex-governor Andrew Cuomo had sexually harassed nearly a dozen women, a flurry of New York and national politicians, including President Joe Biden, called on Cuomo to step down.
Cuomo announced he would be resigning on Aug. 11, effective two weeks from that day, after a damning report by Attorney General Letitia James pushed the state Assembly, which continues a probe into Cuomo’s conduct, to threaten impeachment.
Kathy Hochul Net Worth
Kathy Hochul had a net worth of just $3.2 million with a mass of her assets invested in commercial banks, according to Open secrets in 2012. Meanwhile, Ballotpedia revealed that her net worth was just over $1.6 million with a base salary of $151,000.
Kathy Hochul took a salary of $209,903 as the lieutenant governor of New York in 2020, according to Per See Through NY’s payroll data.
She was county clerk before running for congress in the 2011 special election. She was tapped as a lieutenant governor in 2014 by governor Andrew Cuomo.
She forcefully opposed driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants and was endorsed by NRA as a congresswoman. She is typically seen as a moderate and centrist democrat.
“To my core, I’ve always been a public servant. I believe in serving the people. And you have given me the chance to continue for the next four years,” Hochul said in 2018, withstanding William’s challenge from the left.
As someone who has served at all levels of government and is next in the line of succession, I am prepared to lead as New York State’s 57th Governor." said Kathy Hochul in a released statement as per The New York Times in early August 2021.
Kathy Hochul Political Party
The new female governor, Kathy Hochul, was born to an Irish Catholic family in Buffalo. She began getting involved in politics as a teenager. She received a political science degree from Syracuse University, and she worked as an intern at New York State Assembly, where she met her husband, Bill Hochul. She had also attended and graduated from Catholic University Colombus Law school in 1984.
She first ran for office at age 35, winning a seat on the Hamburg Town Board, where she served for 14 years.
She became the first democrats to represent the 26th congressional district in four decades, having won the seat with 47% vote in 2011. However, she ended up losing reelection in 2012.
She has served ex-governor Andrew Cuomo, as lieutenant governor for nearly seven years. She is regarded as a centrist democrat.
On Nov 8, 2022, New Yorkers will head to the polls for the next gubernatorial election. Hochul can run for re-election, buying herself four more years.
A Look Back Towards Kathy Hochul Policies History
“Once in Congress, I will fight alongside NARAL Pro-Choice New York to ensure women have access to safe and adequate health services, without any interference from the federal government,” Kathy Hochul said in 2011. She was endorsed by pro-choice organization NARAL in 2011.
Hochul supported abortion rights and LGBTQ rights in the state’s more conservative districts.
In 2011, Hochul signed the Student Non-Discrimination Act, which “prohibits public school students from being excluded from participating in, or subject to discrimination under, any federally-assisted educational program on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity or that of their associates.”
She signed the proposed Equal Rights Amendment while in congress.
Hochul supported a new law from ex-governor Cuomo that aimed to close the wage gap. She has backed New York’s Red flag law that seeks to prevent people deemed dangerous from buying firearms that were into effect in 2019.
She has shown her support in Obamacare and preserving Medicare. She has supported free college tuition for middle-class families. She has demonstrated her immense support in increasing the minimum wage to $15.