Kathy Hochul

Kathy Hochul was born in Buffalo, New York, on August 27, 1958. She earned a B.A. from Syracuse University in 1980 and a J.D. from Catholic University in 1983. She practiced law and worked as an aide to Representative John LaFalce from 1984 to 1986 and to Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan from 1986 to 1988.

Her official biography says she began in public service on her local town board. She was deputy clerk of Erie County from 2003 to 2007 and county clerk from 2007 to 2011. She won a special election to the House as a Democrat and served from May 24, 2011, to January 3, 2013, sitting on the Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, and lost her 2012 reelection bid. She took office as lieutenant governor on January 1, 2015.

Hochul became governor on August 24, 2021, following the resignation of Governor Andrew Cuomo. The National Governors Association lists her current term as beginning January 1, 2023. She is the 57th governor of New York.