Dragged Into the 21st Century

Today, the progressive state of New York has its first female governor, the lieutenant governor who ascended to the position (EXCELSIOR!) because her predecessor was a serial sex pest, not to mention an authoritarian and a micromanager who colluded with conservative Democrats to collaborate with Republicans in the state legislature to block genuine progressive policies.  

Kathy Hochul, our first female governor, was sworn in at midnight.  She's a conservative Democrat out of Buffalo, but she's never been embroiled in scandal, to the extent that she's largely a cipher to downstaters like myself.  Her first day was promising, though, as she named combating COVID-19 as her top priority, promising mask and vaccine mandates for our schools.  She also made continuing financial assistance a priority.  COVID-19 is the ONE ISSUE, on both a state and a national level, and her commitment to helping us fight the pandemic is heartening.

Governor Hochul also distanced herself from the former governor, and announced a new era of transparency and an overhaul of the state's sexual harassment laws:

“I'm directing an overhaul of state government policies on sexual harassment and ethics, starting with requiring that all training be done live instead of allowing people to click their way through a class.” 

It looks like a promising start to a term which, frankly, is long overdue.  Not only have the rumblings about Cuomo's misconduct gone on for too long, but on an existential note, New York has gone too goddamn long without a female governor.  It's just a shame that she had to ascend to the position in this manner, and that the progressive state had to be dragged into the 21st Century.