At a procedural ceremony at midnight on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, Kathy Hochul was sworn in as the 57th Governor of the State of New York.
The Legislative Gazette will provide full coverage of Hochul’s address to the people of New York, scheduled for Tuesday afternoon.
Below are her comments from a ceremonial 10 a.m. swearing-in ceremony at the Capitol:
“So this is an emotional moment for me, but it is one that I prepared for and I’m so looking forward to continuing the work we have to do. To that end, I spoke with President Biden last night to talk about a number of issues. He pledged his full support to my administration and anything we need. Particularly I thanked him for the support we’ve received from FEMA and others in terms of cleaning up after Henri and how we were prepared and I want to continue assessing the situation.
“But I do want to thank the people whose lives were disrupted as well as those who responded, not just to that crisis, but those who continue to fight on the front lines as we fight this deadly pandemic.
“I also want to thank the hundreds of thousands of state workers who I have such respect for and I look forward to letting them know that I will represent them with my heart and soul as well. They are the face of government in many, many communities, and I have my utmost respect for all of them.
“So I just want to tell you briefly, I’ll be sharing a number of my priorities with all of you if you would reconvene again at three o’clock today. We will also be talking about how we’ll be combating COVID, getting direct aid to New Yorkers more quickly, and changing the culture of Albany.
“And that’s why I’m looking forward to a fresh, collaborative approach. That’s how I’ve always conducted myself. It will be nothing new for me, but it’s something I’m planning on introducing to the State Capitol. So I’ll be heading to a meeting very shortly with our leaders here. We have much to discuss. We’ll be reporting on that afterward.”
