Kathy Hochul won’t take over as New York’s governor for about two weeks, but several lobbyists already have a leg up in the race to influence her.
Hochul, who was elected the state’s lieutenant governor in 2014, has dealt with several lobbyists across a range of industries already this year.
She will replace Gov. Andrew Cuomo after he announced on Tuesday that he would be resigning in two weeks, in the wake of a state Attorney General report that said he sexually harassed 11 women. Cuomo, who has continued to deny wrongdoing, had been under investigation for several months before he quit.
“I am sure in Albany lobbying world they raced to curry favor with Kathy Hochul starting with the cascade of accusations earlier this year,” a longtime Democratic insider with ties to state leadership told CNBC. “I bet that’s when her phone started going off the hook because Albany lobbyists know when there’s about to be a sea change.” This person declined to be named in order to speak freely.
On Wednesday, Hochul said that she has already been in touch with state legislative leaders, as well as heads of businesses and labor groups. She also vowed to clean up the toxic work environment Cuomo has been accused of overseeing.
Hochul, who will be the state’s first female governor, had heard from some of the state’s top donors prior to Cuomo’s resignation announcement.
Some of the lobbyists who have been in touch with her had ties to Cuomo’s late father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo; former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani; and former Gov. David Paterson.
