Albany, N.Y. (AP) — New York Governor Kathy Hochul made history by becoming the first woman elected in the state when she sworn into her first elected term on Sunday.
The Democrat, who began her term as the 57th governor of New York, said her goal is to improve public safety and make the state more affordable.
“There are some battles we have to fight right now,” Ho-Chol said after taking the oath of office at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center in Albany. “First, we need and will make the streets safer.”
Hochul also called for making the state more affordable, citing the high cost of living. Lieutenant Governor Antonio Delgado was also sworn in on Sunday.
The 64-year-old woman from Buffalo, Hotchol defeated Republican Rep. Lee Zeldin, a Donald Trump supporter, in the November election to take over when former Gov. Andrew Cuomo resigned in 2021. I got a job..
A former congressman, she tried to make a fresh start at Cuomo, serving as Cuomo’s lieutenant governor before taking office in August 2021. He resigned amid sexual harassment allegations, which he denies.
New York Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer described November’s victory as “breaking the glass ceiling.”
During her tenure as governor, New York passed some of the toughest gun laws in the country, some of which are still being contested in court.
Delgado, a former Democratic U.S. representative who identifies as an Afro-Latino, took over the position. As lieutenant governor in May, after Brian Benjamin stepped down, he said he “can’t wait to get to work” on a “transparent” and “accountable” government.
New York Attorney General Letitia A. James, 64, also took the oath of office for a second term on Sunday. She made history in her 2018 as the first woman to be elected attorney general of a state and the first black person to hold the office.
“Four years ago, I committed myself to making this office a force for justice. I promise to fight for every New Yorker, regardless of political affiliation,” said James of Brooklyn. .
Inspector Thomas DiNapoli was appointed for a fourth term. “We continue to live in a time of unprecedented challenges of evil and economic uncertainty. But we New Yorkers are resilient,” he said.
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Maysoon Khan is a member of the Associated Press/Reports for America Statehouse News Initiative.Reporting to America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to cover hidden issues. Follow Maysoon Khan on her Twitter. twitter.com/MaysoonKhan.
