Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul Wednesday afternoon said that she is ready to transition into the governor”™s office and expects to announce in advance of taking office her pick to become the new lieutenant governor.
“In 13 days I will officially become the 57th governor of the state of New York and shortly thereafter I look forward to delivering an address to all New Yorkers to lay out my vision for the great state of New York,” Hochul said.
“I know this year-and-a-half has been so challenging for families and businesses across our state. Sometimes it doesn”™t feel as if it”™s getting any easier.”
Hochul said that she has already spoken with Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins of Yonkers, who it has been reported is among those under consideration for the lieutenant governor”™s slot, as well as business, labor and faith leaders from around the state along with numerous elected officials.
“Small businesses are just starting to bounce back into an uncertain world. We need to reassure them that they”™ll be okay,” Hochul said about coming out of the Covid crisis while at the same time the Delta variant of the virus is spreading. “Our workers are once again debating whether they should even go back to their jobs, go back to their offices, go back to their factories. Is it even safe enough?”
Hochul said that she has spoken with Cuomo and he promised a smooth transition. She said that she and the governor have had a good working relationship but they have not been close. She said that her position is that there can only be one governor of the state at a time and that Cuomo will continue to be governor until his resignation formally takes effect.
Hochul said that she will be meeting with all of Cuomo”™s current cabinet officials in the next few days and will announce any replacements as appropriate.
When asked about people on Cuomo”™s staff who were named in the Attorney General”™s report on the sexual harassment and toxic workplace allegations against Cuomo, Hochul said, “No one who was named as doing anything unethical in the report will remain in my administration.” Hochul said to expect turnover among staff in the governor”™s office when she takes over.
“No one will ever describe my administration as a toxic work environment,” Hochul said.
When asked about what steps she might take to deal with Covid and the spread of the Delta variant, Hochul said, “All options are on the table and I”™ll be looking very closely at the trends in consultation with our health care professionals as well as the CDC (federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention).
“I want people to know that currently the administration does not possess the executive powers that it had last year at the time when I was very engaged in dealing with the Covid response. We are going to monitor this closely. I believe that the key to get through this…is as simple as more people getting vaccinated.”
