Cuomo successor Kathy Hochul says her administration won't be described as 'toxic'
New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul laid out her plans for her upcoming term as governor on Wednesday in her first public appearance since Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s resignation, which occurred a week after an investigation concluded he had sexually harassed 11 women.
While Cuomo, who stepped down on Tuesday, will remain governor for 13 days until his resignation becomes effective, Hochul made it clear that she is looking to make big changes to the office.
“No one will ever describe my administration as a toxic work environment,” Hochul said at the press conference, when asked if there will be turnover in the executive office. “No one who was named doing anything unethical in the report will remain in my administration.”
“My administration will be fully transparent when I’m governor,” she said.
Hochul also emphasized her distance from Cuomo. “I think it’s been clear the governor and I have not been close — physically or otherwise,” she said. Hochul, a Buffalo native and former Democratic congresswoman, has served as Cuomo’s lieutenant governor since 2014 but was never a part of his inner circle.
After allegations of sexual assault against Cuomo emerged earlier this year, she stopped mentioning him by name. In Cuomo’s 300-page memoir, which highlights members of his administration who helped him respond to the COVID-19 crisis, Hochul’s name is conspicuously absent.
Hochul said Wednesday that she had no knowledge of any of the allegations detailed in the report released last week by New York state Attorney General Letitia James. The report concluded that Cuomo had “sexually harassed current and former state employees in violation of both federal and state laws.”
Hochul did, however, align herself with the policies of the Cuomo administration, identifying her role in fighting for initiatives including minimum wage increases and paid family leave.
“Many people have supported the policies of the Cuomo administration. There is a strong legacy of accomplishment,” she said. “I know the job, I’ve fought for the same policies, that’s why I’m more prepared than anyone could possibly be for this position.”
On the coronavirus pandemic, Hochul said the key to getting through it is for more people to get vaccinated, a point that stayed true to the Cuomo administration’s push for an increased vaccination rate.
Hochul said she expects to announce her lieutenant governor in the next two weeks. She said she will be naming someone who she believes “the state will be familiar with.”
So far, Hochul has spoken with New York's two senators, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, and with Hillary Clinton. She expects to speak with President Biden in the coming days.
During Wednesday's White House briefing, press secretary Jen Psaki said Biden is looking forward to working with Hochul to “continue to get the pandemic under control, to put the people of New York back to work and to move forward as federal and state partners.”
“I will fight like hell for you every single day,” Hochul said during her press conference, addressing her constituents. “I want people to know that I’m ready.”
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