Political support for Lieutenant Government Kathy Hochul is gaining momentum as calls for government Cuomo to resign over allegations of sexual harassment.
In a turn of poetic justice, Hochul would become the first female governor of the state and 57th overall.
Hochul, 62, has largely remained out of the public eye since she was elected with Cuomo, with his second term in office. In fact, during the height of the pandemic last year, she was not mentioned at all in his public schedules, and his book on the COVID-19 crisis did not include her in this.
But on Friday, she took the drug to get the vaccine with the NAACP president in her hometown of Buffalo, which could be seen as a contradiction to Cuomo’s appearance Monday in the Javits Center, flanked by black clerics. Hochul poses for the cameras in Catholic Health and bends her biceps muscle a la Rosie the rivet hammer.
Contrary to tradition – and a sign that she may already be distancing herself from Cuomo – the media was notified of the appearance via Hochul’s own press office. Usually the governor’s office sends schedules for both.
The 59 lawmakers who issued a statement on Thursday calling for Cuomo to resign – following allegations that he came to a mansion’s governor last year under the guise of an assistant and touched her – have expressed support for Hochul.
“We have a lieutenant governor who can step in and lead the rest of the term, and that’s the best thing for New Yorkers at this critical time,” they wrote.
Brooklyn Borough mayoral candidate and president Eric Adams agrees with the sentiment in a statement: “I trust Lieutenant Government Hochul to manage the budget process and our Attorney General to investigate thoroughly.”
Zephyr Teachout, a professor of Fordham law who played against Cuomo and Hochul in 2014, gave Hochul a boost in a statement in which he urged Cuomo to retire.
“Cuomo must resign and Kathy Hochul, against whom I campaigned and voted against … must be the governor,” did she tweet Friday afternoon. “He can not be trusted. He lies, bullies and chases away talent. He betrayed the trust of the people of New York. ”
A spokeswoman for Mayor de Blasio – who publicly supported Hochul when she first ran with Cuomo in 2014 – also addressed the prospect that Hochul would become the leader of the state.
“Andrew Cuomo has several allegations of sexual assault and sexual harassment … Kathy Hochul did not,” Bill Neidhardt said.
Hochul het said she supports an independent inquiry of Cuomo by State Attorney General Letitia James, but did not stop moving Cuomo up.
The potential succession would be similar to that of former government. Elliot Spitzer’s resignation in 2008 amid a prostitution scandal. Toe-Lt. Government David Paterson took up the rest of his term – a job that was admittedly a big leap as the second in command.
He once joked that the job of lieutenant governor requires him to wake up very early and call the governor’s private line. If he answers, go back to sleep, your job is done. ”
Hochul was first elected a board member of Hamburg in the 1980s. She was elected in 2011 as Congresswoman for the 26th District, which includes Buffalo.
Hochul met her husband, Bill, a former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York, who worked as an intern at the Assembly while studying at Syracuse University.
Hochul is a proponent of women’s issues – she leads the ‘Enough is Enough’ campaign against sexual assault on college campuses – and has spoken out about her familiarity with promoting testosterone-filled political waters.
‘I know what it’s like to be the only woman in a room. And to make these people talk about you and think you do not matter. It has been my career as an elected official for more than 25 years, ”Hochul told NY1 in November.
“It makes you tougher, but it also makes you want to reach out to the next generation of young women and involve them so that they also want to participate.”