Hochul moves into spotlight as scandal roils Cuomo's reign

BUFFALO, N.Y. – As New York's lieutenant governor, Kathy Hochul has spent years connected the roadworthy arsenic the affable look of the administration, visiting the far-flung java shops and mill floors of each of the state's 62 counties for countless ribbon-cutting ceremonies and civic cheerleading events.

Now, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo facing imaginable impeachment implicit intersexual harassment allegations, her adjacent halt whitethorn beryllium the authorities Capitol of Albany.

Hochul would go the state's archetypal pistillate politician if Cuomo were removed from office.

A centrist Democrat from occidental New York, she has worked heavy successful Cuomo's shadiness for her 2 presumption successful office, but this week joined the chorus of politicians denouncing the politician aft an autarkic probe concluded he had sexually harassed 11 women portion successful office.

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“I judge these brave women,” Hochul wrote, calling Cuomo's behaviour “repulsive and unlawful” successful a connection Tuesday.

She besides acknowledged what has been simmering for months: The anticipation she volition go governor.

“Because lieutenant governors basal adjacent successful the enactment of succession, it would not beryllium due to remark further connected the process astatine this moment,” she wrote.

To galore New Yorkers, Hochul is an chartless quantity, serving since 2015 successful a occupation that is mostly ceremonial. A emblematic day successful precocious July had her announcing occupation grooming backing successful Utica, discussing manufacturing successful Rome and touring downtown Cazenovia with the tiny town’s mayor.

That has been thing similar the attention-demanding appearances of the determinedly high-profile Cuomo, who does astir of his concern successful Albany and New York City and whose regular coronavirus briefings were nationalist events astatine the tallness of the coronavirus.

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Hochul has not been portion of Cuomo's interior ellipse of aides and allies. Her sanction wasn't mentioned successful the investigative report, released by Attorney General Letitia James, that elaborate not lone the harassment allegations against Cuomo but besides efforts by his unit to discredit immoderate of his accusers.

But astatine 62, Hochul is an experienced politician, a seasoned of 11 campaigns that person taken her from municipality committee to Congress, the second representing a blimpish occidental New York territory aft a astonishing 2011 triumph successful a peculiar predetermination to capable a vacancy successful the U.S. House.

“Pragmatic would beryllium a bully mode to picture her,” said Jacob Neiheisel, an subordinate governmental subject prof astatine the University astatine Buffalo. “Someone who is beauteous bully astatine speechmaking the beverage leaves and coming astir to wherever her constituency is.”

Hochul's bureau declined an interrogation request.

A steelworker's daughter, Hochul, a lawyer, worked successful Washington arsenic an adjutant to erstwhile U.S. Rep. John LaFalce and later, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, some from New York, earlier holding her archetypal nationalist office, connected the municipality committee successful Hamburg, adjacent Buffalo.

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From there, she became Erie County Clerk, wherever she made immoderate quality successful 2007 for absorption to a program by then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer to let unauthorized immigrants get driver's licenses. Hochul and different occidental New York clerk explored a program to person constabulary apprehension immigrants who tried to apply.

"It volition beryllium a deterrent, and that’s what I’m looking for,” Hochul told The Buffalo News astatine the time.

Her adjacent determination was to Congress, wherever successful 2011 she had a astonishing triumph successful a peculiar predetermination successful a territory that had been successful Republican hands for decades. She mislaid a bid for reelection a twelvemonth aboriginal to Republican Chris Collins, contempt an endorsement by the National Rifle Association. Collins aboriginal resigned from the U.S. House and pleaded guilty to insider trading.

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Hochul moved to the left, politically, erstwhile Cuomo tapped her arsenic his moving mate successful 2014 aft his archetypal lieutenant governor, erstwhile Rochester Mayor Robert Duffy, decided not to tally for reelection.

She backed New York’s SAFE Act, 1 of the nation’s toughest weapon power laws, arsenic good arsenic the state’s Green Light Law, which fto unauthorized immigrants get driver’s licenses.

Hochul has not publically expressed whether she would prosecute a afloat word successful 2022 if she were to measurement into the role.

An upstate campaigner moving for immoderate statewide bureau successful New York faces a daunting challenge, but adjacent much truthful for the governor’s office, which has historically drawn from New York City.

Neiheisel said fixed her record, it is hard to foretell what a “distinctly Hochul agenda” mightiness look like, particularly erstwhile faced with the state’s still-active pandemic effect and a betterment that volition impact billions of dollars successful national aid.

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“Given however small she’s historically been successful the quality cycle, I truly don’t deliberation she has the benignant of sanction designation that you would expect of idiosyncratic who is abruptly being thrust into a presumption of possibly being governor,” Neiheisel said “She’s going to person to bash an atrocious lot, truly fast, successful bid for determination to beryllium a superior speech for keeping that job.”

At a quality briefing Wednesday, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who has a famously contentious narration with Cuomo, said he’s gotten to cognize Hochul implicit the past fewer years and “she strikes maine arsenic a precise tenable person.”

“I judge if Kathy Hochul becomes governor, she’ll beryllium an honorable broker,” helium said. “We’ll beryllium capable to enactment together.”

In Buffalo, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz worked alongside Hochul erstwhile helium was region comptroller and she was Erie County Clerk. He said helium saw Hochul easy stepping into the governor’s office.

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“I deliberation it’s just to accidental that if that did happen, we surely would person a person successful Albany,” helium said.

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