By Bob Gaydos

Gov. Kathy Hochul (left) and running mate Adrienne Adams. A historic moment.

  Not all the news is coming out of D.C. today. New Yorkers have a chance to make history this year and I’m willing to bet most of them don’t even know it. 

    Kathy Hochul does. In fact, she’s going for the trifecta.

    The first female governor of New York (she moved up from lieutenant governor in August of 2021 when Andrew Cuomo resigned as governor), Hochul also became the first female to be elected governor on Nov. 9, 2022. Now, she is running for re-election with a female lieutenant governor partner — the first all-female top of ticket in state history.

    Hochul’s pick for lieutenant governor is Adrienne Adams, former speaker of the New York City Council. In addition to balancing the ticket geographically with Buffalo native Hochul, Adams would make history herself, being the first black woman to hold the number two spot in state government if elected. Adams was an unsuccessful candidate for city mayor in the Democratic primary.

      The Republican candidate for governor is Bruce Blakeman, a Trump-loving, card-carrying MAGA who is Nassau County executive. His running mate for lieutenant governor is Todd Hood, sheriff of Madison County. Right. Who?

      To refresh your memory, Blakeman only became the Republican choice for governor because Rep. Elise Stefanik, a born-again Trumper, dropped out, thus depriving New Yorkers of making a historic choice between two female candidates for governor.

    Stefanik is a classic example of how Trump treats female allies. A true converted loyalist, she was head of the GOP conference in the House of Representatives. Then Trump said she’d be his United Nations ambassador. A reward. Then he changed his mind because he needed her vote in the House. But she had already resigned her leadership position, so she used her Harvard education and decided to resign from the House and run for governor of New York instead. And then Trump endorsed Blakeman. Thanks for everything, Elise.

     At this point, all the polls say the Democratic women are likely to win. A lot of New Yorkers, not just women, think it’s about time.

    While the lieutenant governor position has always been kind of like a scaled down version of U.S. Vice President, the all-female leadership symbolism is inescapable. Start with the fact that Hochul became governor because Cuomo was under investigation by State Attorney General Letitia James, another strong woman, for several claims of inappropriate sexual advances to women at the State Capitol. Cuomo also tried to run for mayor of New York City, but fared poorly in the Democratic Primary.

     James, of course, took the Trump family to court and won a massive fraud conviction against them. They are banned from doing business in New York. James is running for re-election on a ticket with Hochul and Adams.

    So, in a country with a misogynistic president who hates and fears strong women, is an adjudicated sex offender and is tied to a religion-based group of supporters dedicated to minimizing the role of women in society, it appears that the president’s home state is giving him the proverbial finger.

    Well, it is New York.