After weeks of rumors about whether New York Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul could leave the ticket, the Democrat picked up endorsements from local elected Democratic women Wednesday near the capitol.
109th district Capital Region state Assemblywoman Pat Fahy stood among the enthusiastic group of Hochul supporters in West Lafayette Park. "We have a lieutenant governor who has not missed a beat, covered the state back and forth, and repeatedly worked with all of us, championed countless countless issues, not just women's issues..."
Carrie Woerner is the Assembly member for the 113th district. "This lieutenant governor gets it. From agriculture to advanced manufacturing she knows what it takes to grow our upstate economy, and it's a pleasure to have been in her presence as she has toured businesses, as she has spoken with up an d coming business and she's spoken with some of our heritage businesses, to learn what they need and to go after getting it done. She is tireless in working for the needs of our communities."
New York City state Senator Diane Savino says Hochul deserves a second term. "She's not one of those people who just shows up during an election year. I lost count a long time ago of how many times she's been to Staten Island. Last week she came to accept an award from a local organization, and in a few minutes she displayed the breadth of her knowledge about Staten Island, about our economic development challenges, about the projects that are there, because she understands it because she takes the time to learn it. She has walked the beaches of Coney Island with me, to see, not only the economic development issues that we face on the beachfront, but also the after-effects of storm recovery from Superstorm Sandy. She has been involved in those issues. That's the kind of involvement that she brings to the office of lieutenant governor."
Mayor Kathy Sheehan noted that Hochul calls Albany "her second home." "And now is the time more than ever for us to ensure that that voice remains in state government and that Kathy Hochul is reelected as the great Lieutenant Governor of the state of New York."
The former Buffalo-area Congresswoman is facing a primary challenge from New York City Councilor Jumaane Williams. She believes voters will choose her based on her political record. "People want experience, so I'm leaning hard into that. But also the depth of my passion, my knowledge of the entire state. My record of accomplishment: 14 years in local government, four years in county government, a couple years in Congress, and now four years as a Lieutenant Governor, I think it'd be tough to beat the experience that I'm able to bring to this. Also my willingness to champion tough issues in tough parts of our state. Issues like the SAFE Act, popular in New York City. My friends from upstate will tell you that that is not a winning strategy to get elected as a Democrat in upstate New York."
"My hope is that she actually keeps to that message because our message is actually re-envisioning what the lieutenant governor's position is," said Williams, who promises he'll reinvigorate the state's second-in-command position. In New York, the governor and lieutenant governor are elected separately. "Success for me in being lieutenant governor is not parroting what the governor says, not being a rubber stamp to the governor. It's actually quite the opposite. I wanna be the people's lieutenant governor."
Cuomo said this weekend he is committed to Hochul “100 percent.”
