US : New York Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul is poised to take over running the state government after Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned Tuesday following a report from the attorney general that alleged he sexually harassed multiple women, including employees, and violated state and federal law.
The future governor called Cuomo’s decision “the right thing to do and in the best interests of New Yorkers” in a brief statement after his announcement.
“As someone who has served at all levels of government and is next in line of succession, I am prepared to lead as New York State’s 57th governor,” she said.
Hochul was first elected to public office in the 1980s as council member in Hamburg, just outside of Buffalo. She rose through the political ranks with several local positions, eventually becoming the Erie County clerk in 2007.
In 2011, Hochul won a special U.S. House election, flipping a district spanning from Buffalo to Rochester that had long been controlled by Republicans, by campaigning against the GOP plan to overhaul Medicare.
Redistricting made Hochul’s seat even more rural and conservative and she lost her re-election bid in 2012 to Republican Chris Collins, who would later become the first member of Congress to endorse Donald Trump for president.
CNBC
