纽约州长安德鲁·科莫面临新的辞职要求,此前纽约总检察长调查称声称他性骚扰了11名女性包括他自己的工作人员在内,所有的目光都集中在副州长凯西·霍楚尔身上,如果科莫下台或被弹劾,她将接替科莫。
62岁的霍楚尔如果就职,将成为纽约首位女州长。2008年,在州长艾略特·斯皮策因卖淫丑闻辞职后,大卫·帕特森上任,纽约也面临着类似的权力更迭。
周二下午,主持州长打击校园性侵“适可而止”运动的霍楚尔说,发推关于司法部长调查结果的声明。她称科莫的行为是“令人厌恶和非法的”
“没有人可以凌驾于法律之上。根据《纽约宪法》,议会现在将决定下一步措施。因为上尉州长是下一个接班人,所以现在就进一步评论这个过程是不合适的,”她在推特上写道。
这位纽约州北部的本地人自2015年以来一直担任她的职位,她在纽约州政治方面有着悠久的历史。
霍楚尔出生于纽约布法罗,1980年获得锡拉丘兹大学的学士学位,四年后获得天主教大学的法学博士学位。
据报道,从法学院毕业后,她在华盛顿特区的一家私人公司工作,之后担任美国众议员约翰·拉法尔茨和后来的美国参议员丹尼尔·帕特里克·莫伊尼汉的法律顾问和立法助理她的纽约州官方简历。
1994年,霍楚尔被选入纽约伊利县的汉堡镇委员会,任职至2007年,被任命为伊利县书记。
“她担任当地经济发展机构的联络员,并在(西纽约)制造业基地丧失后努力吸引新企业和创造就业机会,”她的简历说。
在任期间,霍楚尔还致力于帮助流离失所的妇女。2006年,她、母亲和姑姑成立了凯瑟琳·玛丽之家,这是一个家庭暴力受害者的过渡之家。
2011年,霍楚尔在纽约第26区的一次特别选举中当选为美国众议院议员。克里斯·柯林斯将在2012年大选中击败她。
在她的任期内,她是武装部队和国土安全委员会的成员。
库莫在2014年成功竞选第二个任期时,提名霍楚尔为他的副州长。科莫和霍楚尔在2018年赢得连任。
在科莫政府的领导下,霍楚尔监督了几个国家项目和管理团体。她是10个地区经济发展委员会的主席,这些委员会帮助决定对纽约和州劳动力投资委员会项目的投资。
科莫任命她为海洛因和阿片类药物滥用工作队的联合主席。
Meet the woman who could succeed Cuomo
As New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo faces new calls to resign following a New York attorney general investigation thatalleges he sexually harassed 11 women, including his own staff members, all eyes are on Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, the woman who would succeed Cuomo if he stepped down or was impeached.
Hochul, 62, would be New York's first female governor if she assumes office. New York faced a similar change in power in 2008 when David Paterson assumed the office following Gov. Eliot Spitzer's resignation over a prostitution scandal.
On Tuesday afternoon Hochul, who chaired the governor’s "Enough is Enough" campaign to combat sexual assault on college campuses,tweeteda statement about the attorney general's findings. She called Cuomo's behavior "repulsive & unlawful."
"No one is above the law. Under the New York Constitution, the Assembly will now determine the next steps. Because Lieutenant Governors stand next in the line of succession, it would not be appropriate to comment further on the process at this moment,"she wrote in a tweet.
The upstate New York native, who has been in her position since 2015, has had a long history with New York state politics.
Born in Buffalo, New York, Hochul earned a B.A. degree from Syracuse University in 1980 and a J.D. from Catholic University four years later.
After graduating from law school, she worked for a private Washington D.C. firm before serving as legal counsel and legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. John LaFalce and later U.S. Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, according toher official New York state bio.
In 1994, Hochul was elected to the Hamburg Town Board in Erie County, New York, and served until 2007 when she was appointed the Erie County Clerk.
"She served as liaison to the local economic development agency and worked to attract new businesses and create jobs following the loss of the [Western New York] manufacturing base," her bio said.
During her time in office, Hochul also worked to help displaced women. In 2006, she, her mother and her aunt established the Kathleen Mary House, a transitional home for victims of domestic violence.
In 2011, Hochul was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in a special election for New York's 26th district. Chris Collins would defeat her in the 2012 election.
During her tenure, she sat on the Armed Services and Homeland Security committees.
Cuomo nominated Hochul to be his lieutenant governor when he successfully ran for his second term in 2014. Cuomo and Hochul won re-election in 2018.
Under the Cuomo administration, Hochul has overseen several state projects and governing groups. She chairs 10 regional economic development councils, which help decide investments for projects in New York and the State Workforce Investment Board.
Cuomo appointed her as co-chair of the Heroin and Opioid Abuse Task Force.