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ALBANY, NY – Governor Kathy C. Hochul, the first woman in history to lead New York City, took the helm this week under extraordinary circumstances, as she replaced a disgraced governor and moved to face staggering public health, education and economic challenges across the state.
Minutes after outlining her vision in her first speech as governor on Tuesday, Ms Hochul – a Democrat from western New York state – spoke to The New York Times at the State Capitol. In a broad interview, the relatively little-known leader discussed her governance philosophy and plans for the state, her political leanings (“I’m a Democratic Biden”) and her ambitions for her new team (she has decided on her lieutenant governor, she said).
And she offered some of her most detailed remarks to date on how she contrasts with Andrew M. Cuomo, whom she replaced in office after her resignation.
Below are edited and condensed excerpts from the interview with Ms Hochul, 62, whose remarkable political rise has taken her from local civil servant to congressman, and now from lieutenant governor to one of the most important jobs in the country.
You make history as the first female governor to rule New York. How significant does this seem to you?
I feel a heavy responsibility on my shoulders.
I take it very seriously, my position as the first female governor. But I want at the end of my term – terms – to make sure that no woman, no girl, no teenager ever feels that there is something they can’t do.
How should New Yorkers judge whether your tenure was successful?
Do we have things to do? I am straightforward. I have a very focused agenda. And I hold myself to the highest standards. I judge myself harder than any voter, or any New Yorker, will.
Judge me by specific accomplishments in terms of what I announced today and what I will announce in the State of State Discourse, and hold me accountable for those ambitions. But at the end of the day, I want people to say that I played a major role in restoring people’s confidence in the ability of the state government to stand by their side, to stand up for them, and again – I repeat – to get things done.
As governor, are you asking teachers across the state to get vaccinated?
I want everyone in New York State to get the vaccine, especially teachers and people who are in a school environment – or have a testing requirement, frequent testing.
However, the governor does not have the executive powers that were in place a year ago, so I will work hard, develop partnerships with those stakeholders who can work with me to achieve this.
Governor Cuomo’s response to the pandemic has at times been criticized for being too top-down and disdainful expert opinion in public health. How will your approach differ from his?
I’m wired to see everything Albany does through the lens of a local town, town, county official.
It’s a change of philosophy. I am here, ready – I will give you the direction; I will support you. But I also don’t want to take any powers away from you, because I know what that does.
I was in this position when Albany would have such a heavy hand. But I also think that a pandemic requires a strong response. I will give strong answers. I am decisive. And I will support everything I do by consulting with the people who are on the ground.
What is the right balance between showing executive leadership and relying on local officials?
It’s a consultation with the local population, and then the responsibility ends with me.
Your predecessor was known to have a heavy hand with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. What authority are you seeking to assert on the MTA?
I have already had conversations with leaders; I have been informed of our important projects and I want to see them through.
Authority doesn’t need to be focused on me when hiring exceptional professionals who know their stuff. I’ll be there if there’s something wrong with what I want. But I also know that day by day, they are the ones who must be held to account. Responsible to the runners, responsible to me. But I also know that granting more freedom allows them to rise.
You’ve been in politics in New York for a long time, but you haven’t hidden the fact that you haven’t worked closely with Governor Cuomo. If you weren’t particularly involved in its political decisions, what would you say to people who wonder if you have the managerial experience to move the state forward?
If they have questions about my ability to lead, talk to everyone in government with me, because they know I’m talking about a collaborative approach from government. And I know it’s gonna be a breath of fresh air. I have heard this from countless current employees, members of cabinets, heads of agencies, heads of authorities.
Not being in every room meant that I was elsewhere learning the condition like no other. No one knows the state – no living person knows the state like me. It’s because I decided to do this role, to redefine it because I have all the roles that I have had. I did it as a Lieutenant Governor, and that’s why I have the breadth of knowledge, connections, and a deep love for the state.
One thing that probably wasn’t in your job description as Lieutenant Governor was to publicly disagree with Governor Cuomo. Now that you are governor, what is the main political difference that you have with him?
I thought we should have done more with the New York City Housing Authority. I think there is still an opportunity. So many people live in poverty. Heat is unreliable in winter. It is too hot in summer. Things are falling apart and I want to get back to nuts and bolts. Everyone has the dignity, even the dignity of having a good roof over their heads.
I’ve seen how transformative it is to give people a safe home, something many take for granted, but if you don’t, it’s terrifying.
So this is an area where I would spend more time and effort in public.
Do you plan to use your influence to help Democrats expand the majority in the House through the redistribution process?
Yes. I am also the leader of the New York State Democratic Party. I embrace that.
I am responsible for leading this party, as well as the government. I will do all I can to let people know that the values of today’s Democratic Party are part of who I am, fighting for people who have just taken a hard blow in life.
The Democratic Party must regain the position it once had when I was young. My grandparents were FDR Democrats. My parents were JFK Democrats.
Today I am a Biden Democrat.
Are you saying this because he’s president or because you share similar worldviews?
Because it comes from the point of view that we all have a moral responsibility to fight for the underdogs.
This is what I have been doing all my life. Engaging in policies, like fighting for the Affordable Care Act, which I did – which led to my demise in Congress. The core value is to fight for people, for health care, to help them out of this pandemic.
I look forward to leading this party and using the power I have to ensure that there are more Democrats out there to help Joe Biden push his agenda through the Senate. I just spoke to Senator Schumer a short time ago. I spoke to Joe Biden last night. Nancy Pelosi called me a few days ago.
So these are relationships that I have, but I also take seriously my job to increase their numbers so that the Democratic agenda gets through and is there to help the American people.
Have you decided who your lieutenant governor will be? Yes or no?
[In a hushed voice, with an almost-wink] Yes.
Who?
Stay tuned.
Support you the congestion pricing plan for New York City, and you want to speed up its implementation?
I have supported it since its inception.
I think this has to happen for all the reasons we know congestion pricing works. But I also had to work to find the time to deploy. I know they are talking about 18 months to 16 months, but I want to check.
Do you agree with Eric Adams, the Democratic New York mayoral candidate, that changes should be considered for the state’s bail law, and if so, what do you think should be changed?
I’m not sure the surety law is being implemented the way it was intended.
Judges have a lot more leeway to ensure that people meet the standards set out in the law so that no one who has been convicted of a violent crime can get out. The law spells out what’s supposed to be in place for judges to assess, and I’m not 100% sure that’s what’s going on.
So I haven’t seen any evidence – and I support bail reform, I strongly support it, because we had an unfair system. Same crime, two people. We’re rich, we’re poor. We go to jail, we stay at home. I have said for years how anti-American it is.
We also have a responsibility to protect our citizens and our communities, so I’m prepared to consider that.
Governor Cuomo said the attorney general’s report was unfair and politically motivated. Do you think he had proper due process?
I had full confidence from the start in the Attorney General’s report. I am confident in the conclusion and the results.
Do you think you’ll beat him in a primary next year?
I have a very good track record of electoral victories, especially those where people tell me I can’t win.
You have spoken to many national leaders in recent weeks, including Hillary Clinton. What advice did she give you?
“Stay strong.”
She was so gracious by offering to be there as a sounding board, to speak when I wanted.
I’ll never forget, when I won my special election to Congress, I got kicked in the head.
So after that, I’m scarred by the battle. Hillary went through the same thing. There aren’t many people who have been in those trenches. It creates a special bond.
This is what I spoke with Hillary: changing the image people have of women in leadership positions. And that’s what I want to do.
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