New York is swearing in its first female governor-elect on New Year’s Day, about 16 months after Kathy Hochul first took office.
Hochul becomes the first woman to be sworn in to a full four-year term as governor.
He defeated his Republican challenger, Rep. Lee Zeldin, in a close contest last month. The opening ceremony was held at 2:00 pm at the Empire State Convention Center in Albany.
The ceremony gave Hochul a chance to reintroduce himself to New Yorkers after he inherited office when Governor Andrew Cuomo resigned in disgrace last year.
Aides said the governor should give a personal speech focused more on values than political plans. He will address the policy proposals in the coming days in his statewide speech, they said.
Still, Hochul’s narrow margin of victory is a sign that New Yorkers are divided and seeking solutions to high taxes, crime, a growing mental health crisis, a surge in immigrants, and a possible nurses’ strike on the horizon. .
The governor had invited a dozen heroes to the ceremony after last week’s blizzard in the Buffalo area that claimed more than 40 lives.
Rafael Pujols gives us a recap of election day in New York.
