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The Empire State’s new groove: Hochul vows to change Albany culture

At the swearing-in of New York's first female governor, themes of women in power speak to Kathy Hochul's ambitions for a tenure longer than the year and change remaining of Andrew Cuomo's third term.

(CN) — Signaling a paradigm shift in state politics after a sexual harassment scandal forced the resignation of her predecessor and ushered in the first instance of a woman in New York's highest office, Governor Kathy Hochul was sworn in Tuesday wearing a white dress, the color associated with women's suffrage.

She pointed meanwhile to another statement-making outfit: that of Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, who administered the oath to Hochul in the robes once worn by Chief Judge Judith Kaye, the first woman to sit on New York Court of Appeals. DiFiore, the second woman to hold this title on the state’s high court, wore the same robe at her own swearing-in in 2016, with then-Governor Andrew Cuomo presiding.

Cuomo had positioned himself as a champion of women's equality throughout his decade-plus in office and even through his recent ouster on the heels of a sexual-harassment scandal that had been poised to end with articles of impeachment.

Hochul was Cuomo's lieutenant governor since 2015, officially becoming New York's 57th governor in a procedural ceremony several minutes after he stepped down around midnight. The 10 a.m. ceremony was for the cameras.

Her nod to DiFiore's symbolic robing notwithstanding, Hochul did not mention gender as she laid out her vision of "combating Covid, getting direct aide to New Yorkers more quickly and changing the culture of Albany."

Later in an afternoon address, Hochul said she initiated an overhaul of ethics and sexual harassment training for state government, requiring training be performed live instead of online, and requiring ethics training for every level of New York state employee.

“I’m looking forward to a fresh collaborative approach,” Hochul scolded in the earlier speech. “It’s how I’ve always conducted myself. It’ll be nothing new for me, but it’s something I’m planning on introducing to the state capitol.”

Setting up another contrast to Cuomo — this time to his famously icy relationship with New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio — Hochul recalled a pow-wow over pastries last week where she and de Blasio committed to “full cooperation.” Hochul also noted that she spoke to President Joe Biden on Monday.

The new governor is still assembling the members of her administration. She joked that she “requested and granted myself" a transition period of 45 days. A high priority of hers, she said, is to fill out a diverse cabinet.

“I want people to believe in their government again,” Hochul said. “It’s important that people have faith. Our strength comes from the faith and confidence of the people who put us in these offices, and I take that very seriously.”

In both speeches, Hochul pushed rental assistance and excluded-worker programs as companion pieces of another priority, combatting Covid-19, that will deliver aid directly to New Yorkers. She said the state has hired more people to process applications for assistance tied to the pandemic, such as for people facing eviction because they have been out of work.

Hochul told New Yorkers to prepare for booster shots and updated vaccine requirements, as well as policy announcements from her regarding schools in the coming days.

Determined to steer the state through back-to-school season amid explosive transmission of the delta variant, Hochul said schools need to have mask rules in place and to require coronavirus vaccinations for school personnel.

Kathy Hochul, the first woman to be New York's governor, signs documents during a swearing-in ceremony in the Red Room at the state Capitol, early Tuesday, Aug. 24, 2021, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink, Pool)

As for the New York State Assembly's ongoing investigation of Cuomo — separate from the one that ended in a blistering report from New York Attorney General Letitia James, another woman — Hochul said she would defer to the "separation of branches of government and allow them to do their work."

New York Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie described Hochul on Tuesday as a public servant who has fostered relationships with many local representatives during a career that has spanned every level of government.

“My colleagues and I know that our state is facing many significant challenges," Heastie said in a statement that pointed to the challenges of gun violence as well as the return of school and Covid-19, "and we are prepared to partner with Governor Hochul in addressing them.”

Soon after the ceremony concluded, neighboring Governor Ned Lamont of Connecticut tweeted out his congratulations, welcoming Hochul “to the Guv Club.”

From the time the Reverand Solomon Dees of Albany’s Wilborn Temple began his prayer to when Hochul took the last question for reporters and stepped away from the podium, the ceremony lasted all of 12 minutes.

“You’ll soon find that brevity is the hallmark of my administration,” Hochul had said as she began her remarks.

A few minutes later, Hochel ordered flags flown from state buildings be lowered to half-staff from Wednesday to Monday in honor of a police trooper who died in the line of duty.

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Categories / Government, Politics, Regional

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