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Kathy Hochul
Kathleen Courtney Hochul (/ˈhoʊkəl/ HOH-kəl; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor.
Born in Buffalo, New York, Hochul graduated from Syracuse University in 1980 and received a Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. in 1984. After serving on the Hamburg Town Board and as deputy Erie County clerk, Hochul was appointed Erie County clerk in 2007. She was elected to a full term as Erie County clerk in 2007 and reelected in 2010. In May 2011, Hochul won a four-candidate special election for New York's 26th congressional district, becoming the first Democrat to represent the district in 40 years. She served as a U.S. representative from 2011 to 2013, and was narrowly defeated for reelection in 2012 by Chris Collins following redistricting.
In the 2014 New York gubernatorial election, Andrew Cuomo selected Hochul as his running mate; after they won the election, Hochul was inaugurated as lieutenant governor. Cuomo and Hochul were reelected in 2018. Hochul took office as governor of New York on August 24, 2021, after Cuomo resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment. She won a full term in the 2022 election against Republican U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin in the narrowest New York gubernatorial election since 1994.
Hochul was born Kathleen Courtney in Buffalo, New York, the second of the six children of John P. "Jack" Courtney, then a college student and clerical worker, and Patricia Ann "Pat" (Rochford) Courtney, a homemaker. The family struggled financially during Hochul's early years and for a time lived in a trailer near a steel plant. By the time Hochul was in college, however, her father was working for the information technology company he later headed. Her family is Irish Catholic.
Hochul graduated from Hamburg High School in 1976. She was politically active during her college years at Syracuse University, becoming a student government vice president. She led a boycott of the student bookstore over high prices and an unsuccessful effort to name the university stadium after alumnus Ernie Davis, a star running back who died of cancer before he could join the National Football League. Hochul also lobbied the university to divest from apartheid South Africa. The university divested in November 1985, more than five years after she graduated. In the spring of 1979, the student newspaper The Daily Orange awarded her an "A", citing the campus changes as evidence for the grade. She received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in political science from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University in 1980 and a Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C., in 1984.
After graduation from law school, Hochul began working for a Washington, D.C., law firm, but she found the work unsatisfying. She then worked as legal counsel and legislative assistant to U.S. Representative John LaFalce and U.S. Senator Daniel Moynihan, and also for the New York State Assembly, before seeking elected office.
Hochul became involved in local issues as a supporter of small businesses facing competition from Walmart stores and, in the process, caught the attention of local Democratic leaders. On January 3, 1994, the Hamburg Town Board voted to appoint her to the vacant seat on the board caused by Patrick H. Hoak's resignation to become town supervisor. She was elected to a full term in November 1994, on the Democratic and Conservative lines, and was reelected in 1998, 2002, and 2006. She resigned on April 10, 2007, and was succeeded by former state assemblymember Richard A. Smith. While on the board, she led efforts to remove toll booths from parts of the New York State Thruway system.
In May 2003, Erie County Clerk David Swarts appointed Hochul as his deputy. Governor Eliot Spitzer named Swarts to his administration in January 2007 and appointed Hochul to succeed Swarts as county clerk in April 2007. In an intervention that raised her statewide profile, Hochul opposed Spitzer's proposal to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses without producing Social Security cards. She said that if the proposal went into effect, she would seek to have any such applicants arrested. On November 6, 2007, Hochul was elected to fill the remainder of Swarts's term. On November 14, 2007, Spitzer abandoned his effort to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.
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Kathy Hochul
Kathleen Courtney Hochul (/ˈhoʊkəl/ HOH-kəl; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician and lawyer who has served since 2021 as the 57th governor of New York. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor.
Born in Buffalo, New York, Hochul graduated from Syracuse University in 1980 and received a Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C. in 1984. After serving on the Hamburg Town Board and as deputy Erie County clerk, Hochul was appointed Erie County clerk in 2007. She was elected to a full term as Erie County clerk in 2007 and reelected in 2010. In May 2011, Hochul won a four-candidate special election for New York's 26th congressional district, becoming the first Democrat to represent the district in 40 years. She served as a U.S. representative from 2011 to 2013, and was narrowly defeated for reelection in 2012 by Chris Collins following redistricting.
In the 2014 New York gubernatorial election, Andrew Cuomo selected Hochul as his running mate; after they won the election, Hochul was inaugurated as lieutenant governor. Cuomo and Hochul were reelected in 2018. Hochul took office as governor of New York on August 24, 2021, after Cuomo resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment. She won a full term in the 2022 election against Republican U.S. Representative Lee Zeldin in the narrowest New York gubernatorial election since 1994.
Hochul was born Kathleen Courtney in Buffalo, New York, the second of the six children of John P. "Jack" Courtney, then a college student and clerical worker, and Patricia Ann "Pat" (Rochford) Courtney, a homemaker. The family struggled financially during Hochul's early years and for a time lived in a trailer near a steel plant. By the time Hochul was in college, however, her father was working for the information technology company he later headed. Her family is Irish Catholic.
Hochul graduated from Hamburg High School in 1976. She was politically active during her college years at Syracuse University, becoming a student government vice president. She led a boycott of the student bookstore over high prices and an unsuccessful effort to name the university stadium after alumnus Ernie Davis, a star running back who died of cancer before he could join the National Football League. Hochul also lobbied the university to divest from apartheid South Africa. The university divested in November 1985, more than five years after she graduated. In the spring of 1979, the student newspaper The Daily Orange awarded her an "A", citing the campus changes as evidence for the grade. She received a Bachelor of Arts with a major in political science from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University in 1980 and a Juris Doctor from the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law in Washington, D.C., in 1984.
After graduation from law school, Hochul began working for a Washington, D.C., law firm, but she found the work unsatisfying. She then worked as legal counsel and legislative assistant to U.S. Representative John LaFalce and U.S. Senator Daniel Moynihan, and also for the New York State Assembly, before seeking elected office.
Hochul became involved in local issues as a supporter of small businesses facing competition from Walmart stores and, in the process, caught the attention of local Democratic leaders. On January 3, 1994, the Hamburg Town Board voted to appoint her to the vacant seat on the board caused by Patrick H. Hoak's resignation to become town supervisor. She was elected to a full term in November 1994, on the Democratic and Conservative lines, and was reelected in 1998, 2002, and 2006. She resigned on April 10, 2007, and was succeeded by former state assemblymember Richard A. Smith. While on the board, she led efforts to remove toll booths from parts of the New York State Thruway system.
In May 2003, Erie County Clerk David Swarts appointed Hochul as his deputy. Governor Eliot Spitzer named Swarts to his administration in January 2007 and appointed Hochul to succeed Swarts as county clerk in April 2007. In an intervention that raised her statewide profile, Hochul opposed Spitzer's proposal to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses without producing Social Security cards. She said that if the proposal went into effect, she would seek to have any such applicants arrested. On November 6, 2007, Hochul was elected to fill the remainder of Swarts's term. On November 14, 2007, Spitzer abandoned his effort to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.
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