Cristal Vega ‘25
This year, Kathy Hochul remains the 57th governor of New York, but surprisingly New York’s first elected female governor.
Kathy Hochul first assumed office on August 24, 2021, when former governor Andrew Cuomo resigned. Cuomo was facing an impeachment inquiry due to sexual harassment allegations and other potential abuses of power and misconduct.
Ex-governor Cuomo announced he would resign, and two weeks later on August 24th, at the stroke of midnight, he resigned and Hochul took his place. Lawmakers suspended the impeachment investigation.
Hochul was honored to be trusted with the job, especially because she was one of the few women in a male-dominated field.
Later on, New York had its gubernatorial election with Kathy Hochul running against Lee Zeldin. Despite the fact that the Republican party resurged and some people believed Zeldin would win, Hochul pulled through and the Democratic party won.
Zeldin also really advertised his campaign. Everywhere you would turn there were signs saying “Lee Zeldin for Governor,” encouraging people to vote for him. This kind of thing made people believe the Republicans would win.
Despite Hochul winning and making history, not everyone likes our new governor. In August, she signed into law a bill that replaces the word “inmate” with “incarcerated person” in state law.
“For too long, we as a society have thought of incarcerated individuals as less than people. The use of the word ‘inmate’ further dehumanizes and demoralizes them,” state Sen. Gustavo Rivera said of the bill he sponsored. Many individuals think that this was unnecessary, in spite of Hochul backing it up.
This is of course just one instance of detractors voicing their displeasure with Hochul’s direction for New York. It remains to be seen what she will accomplish in her first full term as governor.
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