Buffalo, NY (WBEN) At the stroke of midnight, Kathy Hochul made history, taking the oath to become the first woman governor of New York.
Political experts say Hochul will have a lot of work ahead of her as she separates herself from Andrew Cuomo.
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Republican strategist Carl Calabrese says the first thing is for Cuomo to pick her own team. "Some holdovers from the Cuomo administration may be acceptable to her, and others won't. She needs to pick people she trusts and who are on the same page on moving her agenda forward," says Calabrese.
Calabrese will have several issues to deal with. "We've got the COVID situation to deal with. We've the eviction moratorium coming up at the end of the month. There's $2.7 billion of rental relief to the state, only a fraction of that has been spent and that has to be spent by the end of next month or it goes back to the feds," notes Calabrese.
Ken Kruly of Politics and Stuff says Hochul will have to deal with COVID. "She'll have to address the question of masks in schools and so forth," says Kruly, who agrees Hochul will have to make changes as she forms her administration.
Kruly says Hochul's attitude is far different than Cuomo. "She's more of a people person and that will work to her benefit," says Kruly. "She's going to have to show some distinction in how things are operated. Cuomo had the top down decisions way, and that doesn't really work too well. I would expect her to show her leadership by expanding the number of people talking to her rather than be a one person band."
Calabrese agrees. "She'll hit the ground running, and she has a great way of dealing with people, and that's very important when it comes to team building. It will be a much different approach than Andrew Cuomo," says Calabrese.
Kruly says Hochul will also have to look at the state budget down the road. "The state is often in a precarious financial position and she'll have to get an assessment on that," says Kruly. "There are billions in public works projects that have to be prioritized. Cuomo would tell us what would be done, Hochul will ask what needs to be done."
Calabrese says Hochul will also have a primary to think about in 2022. "She's very good meeting people in small groups. People on both sides of the aisle recognize that. She's an outstanding retail politician," says Calabrese.
Senator Kirsten Gillibrand worked with Hochul when Hochul was congresswoman. "She's been traveling the state, learning the issues, understanding the importance of the moment we're in as far as how we recover from COVID. I think she is prepared and capable to lead the state," says Gillibrand.
Gillibrand says Hochul worked in state and federal governments. "She is uniquely positioned to be effective in working with her federal counterparts to get resources into the state, and I have great faith in her getting that done," adds Gillibrand.