Right off the bat, the change couldn’t be clearer.
Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul’s first press briefing as the incoming governor of New York state on Wednesday, a day after Andrew Cuomo announced his impending resignation, marked a drastic contrast in the leadership skills and style between the state’s highest executives.
For starters, reporters were welcome to attend in person at the Capitol. Cuomo has an icy relationship with the press, and he demonstrated that during the pandemic when he made his briefings virtual-only for a time out of alleged concerns about COVID-19. He eventually opened the briefings back up to in-person coverage in the spring as the virus eased and pressure mounted for him to do so.
