After facing the national media Sunday morning with appearances on CNN and CBS, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul retreated to a park bench at the Erie County Fairgrounds in Hamburg to savor one of her favorite fair treats – chocolate chip cookie dough that’s battered and deep fried.
She highly recommended the sweet concoction to a throng of photographers and reporters chronicling her first public appearance in Western New York since Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo announced Tuesday he was resigning amid sexual harassment allegations.
"People will see very early on the kind of person I am and the expectations I have of any team that's ever worked with me," Hochul said. "They know that I always have conducted myself with the highest ethical standards. I believe you lead by example."
“You won’t be disappointed,” she said.
Cuomo's resignation cleared a path for Hochul, who has been lieutenant governor since 2014, to step in as the state's 57th governor on Aug. 24. She will be the first woman ever in the post and the first person from Western New York in the gubernatorial office in 136 years.
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Hochul, a former congresswoman, Hamburg Town Board member and Erie County clerk, returned to her roots with the fair visit, telling reporters it was the site where she gave her first public speech as a 10-year-old participant in 4-H, an agriculture-based youth organization.
The Buffalo Democrat said she is already addressing pressing policy matters, working on key staff hirings, and, in a process to be completed within several weeks, preparing to name a new lieutenant governor.
Hochul fed a month-and-half old Holstein calf named Roxy, chatted up a Springville kindergartner and played the popular fair game “I Got It” with her husband, Bill.
It was pretty much a walk in the park after the questions she fielded earlier from Jake Tapper on CNN’s State of the Union, Nancy Cordes on CBS’ Face the Nation and a contingent of local media at the Fairgrounds.
Hochul didn’t deviate from the talking points she’s reiterated throughout the week. When Tapper asked if she could end the “legacy of sleaze” attached to New York’s executive office, she responded by pledging to “go in there and literally say, ‘It’s a whole new day. Zero tolerance.’ I’m going to be very firm in my expectations and in how my administration conducts themselves throughout the entire workforce.”
She told Cordes that she wanted to have a lieutenant governor from the New York City region and would announce a selection after being sworn in as governor.
“I'm well familiar with the challenges, but I want someone who lives there. I want someone who understands the – the challenges, firsthand,” Hochul said. “So, I'll have a very diverse administration, but also excited about the prospect of having a true partnership with a lieutenant governor who ... I believe will bring a lot to the table.”
People who have worked with Hochul over the years tend to say the same things about her – that she's hard-working, competent and unusually kind for someone in a profession never really known for kindness.
At a news conference at the fair, Hochul said she was consulting outside experts on the makeup of the state Health Department and will be putting together an administration “that has some continuity given that we’re in a crisis situation.”
She also said she would sign executive orders to keep key people in place for 45 days for further evaluation.
Hochul also said that no one connected with “unethical behavior,” as detailed in state Attorney General Letitia James’ report on the sexual misconduct allegations against Cuomo, will stay on in her administration.
“A number of people have left already, and I will continue working with the team I have as lieutenant governor in taking advantage of those deep relationships I have with many outstanding commissioners and public servants that are part of the administration and to give them the freedom to go forth and make smart decisions for the people of New York,” she said.
Hochul introduced herself throughout the morning to various fairgoers. Some of them said they knew little about her, while others expressed optimism for a woman from Western New York to bring needed change in Albany.
“I remember when she was county clerk and the DMV just turned around. It was impressive,” said Kathy Graves of Hamburg. “She’s a real person. I’m very hopeful.”
The Buffalo-Niagara region too often has been forgotten by state elected officials who cater more to the interests of New York City and the Capital region, said Donald R. Turlington of Wilson.
Hochul as governor will be “great for Western New York representation,” he said.
