Now Hochul Smashes the Glass Ceiling, But the Party Started Early

Kathy Hochul smashed the glass ceiling holding New York women back for 230 years. 57 governors were elected before she became the first woman. She also powered through as the first upstate governor in a century.

by David Stone

The Roosevelt Island Daily News

Hochul’s smash sent glass flying, but other women marched through alongside her.

The mood was celebratory yesterday morning at 86th Street and 2nd Avenue as other soon-to-be-re-elected women joined her. Her campaign planned the public event for meeting voters, but a media scrum made that difficult.

Senator Liz Krueger signed on for Governor Kathy Hochul and her running mate Anthony Delgado. In a redistricting shuffle, Krueger brings her gifts and expertise to Roosevelt Island and much of Manhattan.

Krueger won with over 70% of the vote over a Republican. For Roosevelt Island, he replaces popular Senator José Serrano who is a close friend as well as a colleague. We spoke briefly, and she’s all set for helping Roosevelt Island.

Reports everywhere failed to hail the significance of what Hochul did in being elected New York’s first woman governor. Most underplayed was her smashing the glass ceiling against an aggressive male candidate.

Lee Zeldin, a MAGA cheeseball, did the expected, refusing to concede his loss long after it was in the bag.

For much of the time, here’s the Kathy Hochul view. A media scrum kept voters from meeting the candidate.

Local media did not distinguish themselves as they pressed their needs for a story and photos that will never be used ahead of New Yorkers hoping to meet the governor.

Congressman Jerry Nadler, sporting a Hochul/Delgado button, was on hand. The only man running on the Upper East Side and Roosevelt Island, Nadler also won in a landslide.

The Hochul Smash by the Numbers

At last count, Hochul led on this historic day by about 6% of the votes counted by 1:00 a.m. on Wednesday. News media posed the win as a sigh of relief, failing to recognize how monumental this achievement was.

In 230 years, no other New York woman pulled it off. In 100 years, no upstate candidate succeeded.

Dodging a poster, State Assemblymember Rebecca Seawright made an appeal to same-day voters. It was impromptu but effective.

Although her popularity ruled out any Republican wasting time running against her, Rebecca Seawright leveraged her authority on behalf of Hochul. At our request, she did the above video without rehearsal.

On Roosevelt Island, Seawright’s popularity helped inspire a same-day 895 to 250 Hochul trouncing of MAGA cheeseball Lee Zeldin. Early voting, unreported so far, will likely reflect similar results.

But the Mass Media Still Can’t Get It Right

Before climbing back into a limo and moving on, Hochul graciously took time for a few questions from crunched-together reporters. No one asked about the potential of a Hochul smash opening a whole new path for women in New York.

Every reliable poll showed her winning, but the gap didn’t seem big enough to please the newspapers who today continued focusing on the size and not the historic impact.

Standing tall, Hochul smoothly handled a series of foolish questions from reporters.

We kid you not. Hochul fielded not one, but two questions about headlines favoring her opponent in the New York Post. She was gracious and answered them directly, not beating around the bush.

The mass media is now so committed to linkbait that they revel in controversy even when it doesn’t exist.

Instead, Hochul’s smashing of the glass ceiling in New York demands celebrating. Toast it. Don’t feed the scrum.