Thursday, September 09, 2021

9 September 2021: Hochul Pledges to Clean House of Cuomo Loyalist Dead-Enders

‘Larry Schwartz is not part of my admin’: Hochul vows to purge Cuomo cronies

This report indicates New York's new governor, Kathy Hochul, wants to clean Cuomo loyalists out of the positions he appointed them to in state government. She also made the point to single one out by name:

Gov. Kathy Hochul vowed Wednesday to “professionalize” the boards that control the MTA and other state agencies — and said she would be demanding the resignations of unqualified cronies appointed by her disgraced predecessor.

During a news conference at her Manhattan office, Hochul said she wanted “a diverse group of individuals to represent all New Yorkers, especially people who are the ones who are the consumers of our transportation services, whether it’s airplanes, trains, subways, buses.”

“There’s some vacancies occurring or I’ll be seeking some vacancies where there are different reasons on why they’re on those boards. And I’ll leave it at that,” she said.

“What I’m going to do is professionalize these boards.”

Hochul didn’t identify any board members by name but distanced herself from Larry Schwartz, a former top aide to ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, when The Post asked whether she would leave him on the MTA board.

“Larry Schwartz is not part of my administration,” she said.

Known as a political enforcer for Andrew M. Cuomo, Schwartz made himself a target for removal when, acting as New York's appointed COVID vaccine czar, he probed county supervisors for their level of political support for Andrew M. Cuomo at a time when the vaccines were in very short supply.

For background on that story, here's where Schwartz appears in the timeline:

-