Kathy Hochul Net Worth, Family, Husband, Education, Children, Age, Biography, Political Career

Kathy Hochul Biography

Kathleen Courtney Hochul is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Hochul is the first female governor of New York.

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 Yorks 26th congressional district to fill the vacancy left by the resignation of then-United States Representative Chris Lee, becoming the first Democrat to represent the district in 40 years. She served as a United States Representative from 2011 to 2013. Hochul was defeated for reelection in 2012 by Chris Collins after the districts boundaries and demographics were changed in the decennial reapportionment process. Hochul later worked as a government relations executive for the Buffalo-based M&T Bank.

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.

Kathy Hochul Net Worth

Kathy Hochul Net Worth is $ 2 Million in 2022.

Kathy Hochul Family, Parents

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. Hochuls family struggled financially during her 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, with roots in Kerry.

Kathy Hochul Husband, Children

Hochul is married to William J. Hochul Jr., a former United States attorney for the Western District of New York and the Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary to Delaware North Companies, a hospitality and gambling company. They have two children.

Kathy Hochul Career and Achievement

After graduating 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 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. Hoaks resignation to become town supervisor. She was elected to a full term in November 1994, on the Democratic and Conservative lines and was re-elected in 1998, 2002, and 2006. She resigned on April 10, 2007 and was succeeded by former state assembly member Richard A. Smith. While on the board, she led efforts to remove toll booths on 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, she opposed Spitzers proposal to allow undocumented immigrants to apply for a drivers license without producing a social security card, and said that if the proposal went into effect she would seek to have any such applicants arrested. She was elected later in 2007 to fill the remainder of Swartss term. She ran for reelection on four ballot lines: Democratic, Conservative, Independence and Working Families Party, defeating Republican Clifton Bergfeld in November 2010 with 80 percent of the vote.

Following Hochuls departure as county clerk, a backlog of mail was discovered by newly elected County Clerk Chris Jacobs, who later said that $792,571 in checks were found in the backlogged mail. As county clerk, Hochul had been in the process of implementing a new system for handling real estate documents when she left after being elected to Congress. Jacobs said that $9,000 were spent in overtime to deposit checks and file unopened documents that had accumulated in the interim period after Hochuls departure, while the office was adjusting to the new system.

United States House of Representatives (2011–2013)

2011 Special Election

Hochul ran in the May 24, 2011, special election to fill the seat in New Yorks 26th congressional district left vacant by the resignation of Chris Lee. She was the Democratic Party and Working Families Party nominee. Hochuls residence in Hamburg, just outside the 26th district, became an issue during her campaign, though it did not disqualify her from seeking the seat. One month after her victory, she moved into the district.

The Republican and Conservative Party nominee, State Assembly member Jane Corwin, was at first strongly favored to win in the Republican-leaning district, which had sent a Republican to Congress for the previous four decades. A late April poll had Corwin leading Hochul by 36% to 31%; Tea Party candidate Jack Davis trailed at 23%. An early May poll gave Hochul a lead of 35% to 31% and shortly thereafter the nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report called the race a toss-up. Additional polling in the days immediately before the election had Hochul leading by four- and six-point margins.

A Washington Post article noted that in the face of a possible Hochul victory, there was already a "full blown spin war" about the meaning of the result. The article said that Democrats viewed the close race as a result of Republicans budget proposal The Path to Prosperity, and, in particular, their proposal for Medicare reform. Republicans viewed it as the result of Daviss third-party candidacy.

The campaign featured a number of negative television ads, with FactCheck accusing both sides of "taking liberties with the facts". In particular, FactCheck criticized the Democrats ads for claiming that Corwin would "essentially end Medicare", even though the plan left Medicare intact for current beneficiaries. The organization also faulted the Republicans for ads portraying Hochul as a puppet of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and for claiming that Hochul planned to cut Social Security and Medicare benefits.

Campaign Funding

Hochul was endorsed by EMILYs List, a political action committee that supports pro-choice Democratic women candidates. She was the fifth largest recipient of EMILYs List funds in 2011, receiving more than $27,000 in bundled donations. The Democrat and Chronicle endorsed Hochul "for her tenacity and independence", while The Buffalo News endorsed her for her positions on preserving Medicare and her record of streamlining government.

Victory

Hochul defeated Corwin 47% to 43%, with Davis receiving 9% and Green Party candidate Ian Murphy 1%.

2012 Election

In the 2012 election, Hochuls district was renumbered the 27th district. She lost to Chris Collins, 51% to 49%. She was endorsed by the National Rifle Association (NRA).

Lieutenant governor of New York (2015–2021)

Campaign and Election

In 2014, Robert Duffy announced that he would not run for reelection as lieutenant governor. Incumbent Governor Cuomo was running for a second term. After Duffys announcement, Cuomo named Hochul as his choice for lieutenant governor. On May 22, 2014, the delegates to the state Democratic convention formally endorsed Hochul for lieutenant governor.

In September, Cuomo and Hochul won their Democratic primary elections. They were also the Working Families Party nominees. (In New York, candidates for governor and lieutenant governor are nominated separately, but run as a ticket in the general election.) In November, the Cuomo/Hochul ticket won the general election. Hochul was sworn in as lieutenant governor on January 1, 2015.

2018 Election

In the 2018 Democratic primary for lieutenant governor of New York, Hochul faced Jumaane Williams, a member of the New York City Council. She defeated Williams, 53.3%–46.7%.

Governor of New York (2021–Present)

In a press briefing on August 10, 2021, Andrew Cuomo announced his resignation as governor, effective August 24. Hochul was officially sworn in as governor at 12:00 AM Eastern Time (ET) on August 24 by New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore in a private ceremony. A public ceremonial event was held later that morning at the State Capitols Red Room.

Hochul is the states first female governor. She is also the first governor from outside New York City and its immediate suburbs since 1932 (when Franklin Delano Roosevelt left office). Hochul also became the first governor from north of Hyde Park since Nathan L. Miller in 1922, in addition to being the first governor from Western New York since Horace White in 1910.

On August 12, Hochul confirmed that she plans to run for a full term as governor in 2022. She was the first Democrat to announce a 2022 gubernatorial candidacy after Cuomo said he would resign.

In August 2021, The Daily Beast and The Buffalo News reported on a potential conflict of interest between Hochuls role as governor and the high-level executive position held by her husband, William Hochul, at Delaware North, a Buffalo-based casino and hospitality company. Delaware North has stated that William Hochul will be prohibited from working on any matter that involves state business, oversight, or regulation. A spokesman for Kathy Hochul has said that she had a recusal policy as lieutenant governor and would maintain that policy as governor.

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