Governor Andrew Cuomo has picked Congress member Kathy Hochul as his running mate. Hochul replaces current Lieutenant Governor Bob Duffy, who chose not to seek re-election.
But last week, when various prognosticators were tossing out Hochul’s name, I wasn’t convinced she’d make the cut. Yes, Hochul’s from Upstate, and Cuomo seemed to want a running mate from this end of the state. But she’s from Erie County. And New Yorkers in Rochester and Syracuse — probably other communities, too — often seem frustrated with the amount of attention the Cuomo administration has given Buffalo. Cuomo’s plan to invest $1 billion in state economic development resources there has been a particular irritation.
That said, Hochul is a good choice. She’s held local and federal office, which means she has valuable political and government experience. And her private sector work — last year, M&T Bank hired her as a vice president of government relations — will undoubtedly be an asset.
But Hochul could also boost the ticket in a very practical way. Back in 2010, when Cuomo ran for his first term, he lost Erie County, and by no small margin. Voters gave the Republican ticket, led by Buffalo developer and conservative activist Carl Paladino, more than 176,690 votes to the Cuomo ticket’s more than 113,400 votes. Paladino may have had the home-turf advantage, but Erie County’s Democratic enrollment substantially outweighs its Republican enrollment.
It’s a safe bet that Cuomo wants to win Erie this time around, and the Hochul pick is savvy in that regard.
This article appears in May 21-27, 2014.
However I wish people would realize that she is NOT on the ticket to be a cheerleader for Buffalo, just as Dufy was NOT on the ticket (despite naiveté by Rochester business and political Illuminatis) to be a cheerleader for Rochester. Running mates are chosen to bring balance to a ticket so people in those areas will be more likely to vote for them. Obama didn’t choose Biden so he could bring home money for Delaware. He chose him to appeal to moderate lunch bucket Democrats, organized labor and working-class Catholics in Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. If people wanted Duffy to represent Rochester, they should have voted him into the state Legislature or the House of Representatives. That is where “representing” an area is done and where it would be effective for that to happen. There he can cheerlead for Rochester and bring home money. The Lieutenant Governor of NEW YORK is there to back up the Governor if something happens to the Governor and to do whatever else the Governor tells them to do. But they are principally there to “balance” the ticket. White suburban male from Westchester County? Choose an African-American male from upstate. White suburban male from Westchester County? Choose a woman from an area where you lost all 8 counties last time around, who’s a populist folksy campaigner who can talk to ordinary people b/c she pretty much is one. It is AMAZING how naïve supposedly Very Smart People in Rochester are.