NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — The ceremonial swearing-in of Kathy Hochul was rife with symbolism as New York ushered in a new era in Albany by welcoming its first female governor.
Hochul, who chose a blue dress for a private midnight swearing-in ceremony, instead wore suffragette white as she publicly took the oath of office in the Red Room at the State Capitol, with her family and legislative leaders looking on. Her daughter and daughter-in-law also went with white for the inauguration.
Like other elected women before her, Hochul's wardrobe choice paid homage to the women suffragists who wore all-white while fighting for the right to vote a century ago.
Last November, Kamala Harris wore a suffragette white pantsuit as she addressed the nation for the first time after being elected as the country's first female vice president.
Others who famously wore the color include Geraldine Ferraro, the first woman to run for vice president, and Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential nominee to earn the backing of a major political party. Last February, female House Democrats attended the State of the Union address in all-white outfits to mark the 100th anniversary of the 19th amendment.
Hochul, who wore a knee-length white-belted dress, noted that there was symbolism in the attire of the state's chief judge, Janet DiFiore, who presided over the ceremony.
DiFiore donned the same robe that was worn by New York's first female Court of Appeals judge Judith Kaye.
In her first press briefing following the morning ceremony, Hochul's first four questions came from female reporters.
There are now nine women serving as governor in the U.S., tying a record that was set in 2004 and matched in 2007 and 2019, the Associated Press reports.
Related
