The ex-deputy of Andrew Cuomo, who resigned, was sworn in on Tuesday to become the new governor. Kathleen Hochul has discreetly pursued her political career locally and made her lack of notoriety an asset. –
After 56 men who have succeeded at the head of state, here is finally a woman governor of New York. Assistant since 2014 of Andrew Cuomo, resigned, Kathleen Hochul logically followed suit. Accused of having sexually assaulted several women according to an independent investigation, the former governor assured, in his farewell speech, that his running mate would succeed in “Try the challenge“. If she is not new to the political landscape of New York – she assisted Cuomo for more than six years – “Kathy” Hochul, 62, remains unknown to the general public. Its relative anonymity has become a political asset.
In other circumstances, we could have seen a snowball effect. But the image of an assistant who has always kept her distance from her superior allowed the Democrat to emerge from the scandal unscathed. She has skilfully focused her communication on this point in recent days. The ex-deputy recently declared that she “never been close ” of the governor. Moreover, she did not support Cuomo who, him, always claims his innocence. “I believe these women and I admire their courage to speak out”, the elected Democrat wrote on Twitter referring to the victims of sexual assault. She described the actions of her former political partner as “Disgusting and illicit” and assured that she had no knowledge of these facts before they were disclosed.
To the right of the Democratic Party
Originally from the city of Buffalo, in eastern New York, Kathy Hochul began her political career on her land where she served as director of Erie County. She stands out for her very right-wing positions for an elected Democrat. In 2007, she opposed a law supported by her party on the right to issue driving licenses to illegal immigrants without a social security number. A commitment that allowed her to surprise in 2010 by being elected to Congress, representative of the 26th district of New York State, a Republican stronghold. During her mandate, she has been criticized several times within her party, in particular for having voted against proposals for environmental defense laws.
Seeking a running mate for the 2014 elections, Andrew Cuomo who wanted to enlist a profile belonging to the moderate wing of the Democratic Party, in order to seduce the conservative northwest of New York, named her number 2 in the State, a representative position without direct prerogatives. Today, the Democrat, who has long remained in the shadows, sees herself thrown into the spotlight. She promises a “Drastic culture change” within his administration. And one of those first decisions was to appoint two women to key positions to support him.
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