As the political world waits for either Governor Andrew Cuomo to resign, or force an impeachment, attention is being shifted to NY’s Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul. In either scenario, Hochul will become the leader of New York State, if only in an interim capacity awaiting the verdict from an impeachment trial. Should Cuomo resign, Kathy Hochul will become the first female Governor of New York State through 2022.
Hochul has represented the 26th Congressional District, winning a special election in 2011 to fill the seat vacated by Chris Lee. Her bid for re-election fell short to Chris Collins, who then resigned in disgrace and was jailed for federal crimes. In 2014 she successfully ran for the Lieutenant Governor spot and was sworn into office on January 1st, 2015.
Hochul is a native of Buffalo, a city she and former United States Attorney William Hochul still call home. Kathy is a alumni of Syracuse University and received her law degree from Catholic University in Washington DC. Prior to her career as a politician, Hochul was a legislative aid to U.S. Representative John LaFalce and U.S. Senator Daniel Moynihan.
As the news of the damning Attorney General report on Cuomo’s sexual harassment surfaced, Hochul seems poised to take the reigns, calling Cuomo’s behavior, “repulsive.” That should excite Wellsville NY, regardless of Hochul’s political party. Kathy has visited Wellsville and Allegany County numerous times since 2015 and is political powerhouse in her native Western New York. She worked closely with previous Village of Wellsville Mayor Judy Lynch and the two leading ladies created a great relationship. Lynch had this to say about the potential of Governor Kathy Hochul:
“As Mayor of Wellsville, I was honored to meet with Lt. Governor Kathy Hochul several times. One such time was following the collapse of the Burrous Buildng to assess the destruction and meet with several of us involved in the possibility of restoring the building. She was instrumental in encouraging us to proceed with seeking grants to bring it back to life and assist wherever she could. That particular day, she walked Main St with us, taking the time along the way to go in some of the stores and greet the people. She loved our community! Of course I was nervous the first time I met her but that didn’t last long as her warm personality immediately made me feel like I had known her forever! She is truly dedicated to serving the people of NY. There have been other occasions I was invited to listen to her as she was doing various dedications. She is an excellent speaker and I was always amazed at the amount of information she knew about each dedication. She is honest and hard working and I have the utmost respect for her.“
Time will tell if current Governor Andrew Cuomo will be forced to resign or face legal action to remove him from office. Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul appears to be on the cusp of becoming the first female Governor of New York State and that is great for Western New York, Allegany County, and Wellsville.
