Incoming New York Governor Kathy Hochul Monday announced two senior administration appointments. New Secretary to the Governor Karen Persichilli Keogh is a New York native who has worked for Senator Hillary Clinton, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Hochul’s new Counsel to the Governor, Elisabeth Fine, previously served as executive vice president and general counsel of Empire State Development and general counsel of the New York City Council.
The two positions were previously held by Melissa DeRosa as secretary and Beth Garvey as acting counsel to the governor since March 2021. Alphonso David was long-time counsel to outgoing Governor Andrew Cuomo before he left in 2019 to become president of the Human Rights Campaign. David was named in the state attorney general report that ultimately led to Cuomo’s resignation. Hochul has said she would not retain any Cuomo staffers named in the report. Hochul, a fellow Democrat, is set to take office tomorrow.
