Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul is a Guest on MSNBC's Morning Joe

Interview

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Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul was a guest on MSNBC's Morning Joe.

A rush transcript of the Governor's interview is available below:

Mika Brzezinski: And the 57th Governor of New York, Governor Kathy Hochul, joins us now, and we're going to get to your mandate for schools in a moment, which I congratulate you on, not a hard call, but apparently in these political times it might be. But first, I want to learn more about you as the first woman to lead the State of New York. Kathy, what lessons, I've been doing a lot of research into your background, your life of service, your family's story of struggle, like many Americans. What lessons do you draw from your mother and your grandmother that will really impact the way you lead this administration?

Governor Hochul: Well good morning, Mika, and we're all products of our family story and I was blessed to have strong women in our history. A grandmother who left Ireland, fleeing great poverty as a teenager, who came here with nothing. She worked as a domestic in Chicago, very difficult circumstances, and ended up raising a family of eight while her husband worked at the steel plant. That was not an extraordinary story, but it's part of why I believe in being a risk taker. People leave a country and come to a whole new world, not knowing what's going to happen, but also just this intense focus on family and faith, and that's what I draw strength from as well. But for my own mother, my mother had a horrific childhood, an abusive home, mother died at a young age, left with a father, and she had to help raise younger children for years. But, you know, my mother came through it, so she taught me resiliency and toughness, but she also dedicated her life to helping others because she was so empathetic, and that's one of the traits I know I draw from my mom, is being involved in social causes back when she was in her 20s and 30s, and dragging me to rallies, and protests, and civil rights initiatives. I mean, they were so involved in their community. I didn't come out of a political family, but I came out of a family that knew they had to care about their community, and go beyond the family. We did so much for people in poverty. We opened a home for victims of domestic violence. When my mother was 70 years old, she never stopped a lifetime of giving and helping others. So those two strong influences have helped shape the person I am, and why I was drawn to public service as a way that I could do good for others. And it's that simple. And I'm so honored to be in this role to be able to have the authority and the people around me and be able to work with other elected officials, as I have my whole life, to get things done for New Yorkers and give them the confidence that this state is in good hands.

Mika Brzezinski: So let's talk about that toughness, that you were brought up and handed down by your mother and grandmother. The circumstances around your rise to power issue obviously in the news. You said the day after the now former governor announced he would resign that you will fire anyone and everyone connected to the report who contributed to the culture of sexual harassment. Have you cleaned house? what have you told the rest of the staff?

Governor Hochul: Yes, the individuals who were named are no longer part of this administration, and they know, I'm walking the walk. I'm just saying, it's over. None of this is going to be accepted, and I've surrounded myself with talented, particularly young, women, and I want them to be the role models to others that this is a place of people who want to work with their heart and passion and bring good services to the public, but also it's a culture where they're going to be okay. You don't have to look over your shoulder. You don't have to worry about harassment. And that's what I'm going to instill, and anyone who violates that is going to have to deal with me.

Joe Scarborough: So Governor, congratulations, I say congratulations, you have a lot on your plate. I'm wondering, have you taken the same approach on employees that were involved in the nursing home decision that really was the first big scandal that blew up in the Governor's office, but the same people that helped him with those decisions that obviously were woefully inadequate, and were actually dangerous to New York seniors?

Governor Hochul: Well, what I was referring to are the individuals named in the Attorney General's report with respect to the sexual harassment cases, but you are correct that I need to continue working to identify principals involved in those decisions, and I'm working to go through. I've asked for a 45-day period to be able to assemble my team, and I'm not going to be replacing people when they're in the middle of a pandemic on this day because I have so much to do to protect New Yorkers and we're not anywhere near where we need to be, but I'll be taking an approach that's very different. Transparency starting just today, we're now releasing more data than had been released before publicly, so people know the nursing home deaths and the hospital deaths are consistent with what's being displayed by the CDC. There's a lot of things that weren't happening and I'm going to make them happen. Transparency will be the hallmark of my administration. It's not hard to do, you just get the information out there and address them.

Mika Brzezinski: So, let's then go back to the sexual harassment issue. The big difference is that you were there, obviously. I think more women in power clearly can make a big difference on this issue overall, but specifically, what is different about the culture and the way your office functions today? You had said you were not in the governor's orbit, so you could not have known about the widespread sexual harassment or inappropriate behavior. Should you have been aware, and what can you do to be sure things are different?

Governor Hochul: Great questions, Mika, and here's what everyone knows. It's no secret that I was not close to the governor. In fact, there's been many media reports of how he tried to have me removed from the ticket, and I didn't back down, and I'm still surviving today, so everyone knows that. What that allowed me to do, if the governor didn't want me at his side in Albany, that's fine. The last seven years, I have been out going to all 62 counties, all the time, spent an enormous amount of energy and effort in New York City to get to know the people, the issues, the MTA and all the frustrations people have with public housing that needs to be focused on as well as creating jobs. So, my focus has been outside of Albany.

Mika Brzezinski: Yeah.

Governor Hochul: I think count the number of times on one hand I have been in the same room. I haven't seen it, but I'll tell you right now, what I'm saying right now to everyone who works for state government, that will not be tolerated. Anyone who crosses the line will be addressed by me, but I also will make sure ethical leaders are trained, that we have strong ethics in place. I was shocked to find out that every New York State employee is not required to even have ethics training. Yesterday I declared that over. We're having in-person sexual harassment training, ethics training, and you can't click through the computer and say you did the class because you're going to be held accountable. These are just the starts, but this is literally my first day on the job, and I'm working to establish, and talk to good government individuals what else do you think should be done. I'm collaborative, I want to hear from others on what they think I can do to elevate the culture in the area. I have a long way to go, but I have started already.

Mika Brzezinski: And just another on that, though, you knew the guy had sharp elbows, you didn't get along with him. He didn't let you in to an extent, but do you think you should have been concerned about those who were working close with him, and do you think Andrew Cuomo should be able to run for office again in the future?

Governor Hochul: I'm not going to talk about the future. I have a lot to focus on today. He can do whatever he chooses, but I'm running for reelection, without a doubt in my mind, I'm going to have the continuity here. I believe in the issues we worked on. I want to demonstrate to people, there's a different way of getting things done in New York, a different approach can be just as high achieving and have the tremendous accomplishments without having a culture or as I say leaving bodies on the road. I come from a family of athletes. We talk sports all the time, and I have come out of that world, so I'm prepared for the world of politics, but I want people to know, we're going to govern differently, and I want everyone to know that from day one, and you're going to see the same and even greater results with a very different approach, and Mika, to me, this is personal because I know there's a lot of people who question women's ability to hold executive positions. I'm one of nine female governors in America today. That's rather shocking but I want to make sure people know when I'm done with my administration, however many terms this goes that they'll say yes, women can lead, they can achieve greatness, they can do good for the people of their state, they can leave a strong legacy of accomplishment, but get it done in a way that's so different than we've seen before, and that's the responsibility on my shoulders right now. I feel it strongly, I feel the weight of it, but I'm up to the task.

Willie Geist: Governor, it's Willie Geist, good to have you on the show this morning. You are stepping into the job, again, in the middle of a pandemic. I'm curious about the mask mandate, the universal school mask mandate statewide that you put in yesterday. Obviously that's been a contentious issue in other states. I expect you'll get some blow back here in the State of New York. What led to that decision? Why do you think it's important to mandate masks in New York schools?

Governor Hochul: Willie, there's just some things in life that I call no brainers, but I did consult, my approach is consult with people who are involved in something that's going to affect them. I met with the leadership of our state unions, the school boards, school superintendents, school administrators, various immigrant groups, and all the stakeholders I could think of. I did a call with them before I even took office, I got their opinions. But I'm decisive. Give me the data, give me the input, talk to Dr. Fauci. This makes sense for New Yorkers, and I'll take the heat. You get elected as a Democrat as the most Republican district in the State of New York a decade ago. I've been in the line of fire a long time. So, okay. I believe this is right because it's going to protect our children and protect the school environment. That's all I need to know.

Willie Geist: You also said, Governor, that an announcement on new vaccine mandates will be coming soon. Were you referring to schools, something more broad, what did you mean when you said that?

Governor Hochul: Well, here's what I'm doing. What I have control over now, I have mask mandates, did that. Announced $580 million for an approach to get more testing in schools. We're launching that right now, our back-to-school covid testing initiative. Also working with Rite Aid. So every student, every administrator, every teacher has easy access to testing before school starts. What I don't have is the ability to mandate vaccines because the legislature did not confer on the Governor at this time the executive powers necessary. Governor Cuomo had that last year but those are not in place now. So I can't mandate that right now, but I also plan on working, I am working already, with everyone who's involved and see if we can get to the same outcome. And I believe that's important. I really believe it's important, and I admire what Mayor de Blasio did this week, and he talked to me beforehand, so it's a whole new era of collaboration, he told me in advance he was going to do this, wanted to make sure I understood, and I think that makes sense. we have to get people feeling safe about their schools. I'm a mom, and the stress that's on families and parents, letting your most precious child go off to school, and you're so worried about them, I get it. I get that. And if they know that wearing masks and having people in that environment vaccinated will create a safety net around their child, that's what people need to hear.

Willie Geist: So you may not have the power to do that from Albany, but it sounds like you think vaccine mandates at the local level are a good idea for teachers?

Governor Hochul: Absolutely. Absolutely. And we're working with the teachers unions. I understand the issues that they have, but they want their teachers to be safe, they don't want a teacher going in there who's also exposed as well. So they're representing the teachers, they're concerned about the children in schools, and it's just the place we are now. And also having the FDA approval, removing the emergency use authorization, anyone who was hesitant before because they decided I can't get a vaccine until it's finally approved, okay, that excuse is now gone, so what's your next excuse? I mean, everyone has to get vaccinated to go to school. You don't go to kindergarten unless you're vaccinated. We have to get back to that normalization of vaccinations and forget all the Republican rhetoric which is killing people, and I'm going to be that blunt about it, because I'm sick and tired of what I'm seeing going on in other states, and I'm glad most of New York is not like that. But, I'm ready to address those issues because it's smart for people, it protects lives, and that's what the job of a Governor is to do.

Willie Geist: Governor, let me ask you quickly about Mayor de Blasio, who you just mentioned. We had him on the show yesterday, I was sitting with him. He said he had a couple of great phone calls with you, looking forward to getting to know you much better. But, frankly, he said it's just a relief not to have Andrew Cuomo there. He believes all the personal drama can be sucked out of the relationship between the Governor of New York and the Mayor of New York City, and they can work on things like the MTA, like on fixing the subways. How important is that relationship with Mayor de Blasio and looking ahead perhaps with Eric Adams as well?

Governor Hochul: Yes, and I've been building relationships since I was a town board member 27 years ago, you know, and then to county office, and Congress. That's the hallmark of just how I approach government. You don't get anywhere without those collaborative relationships, so for me it's not even a new concept. I do this naturally. But I'm really looking forward to working with Mayor de Blasio. We've had strong conversations. And I spoke to Eric Adams just yesterday talking about getting the money out for all the renters and landlords who've been desperately waiting for the money that came from President Biden, that came from Chuck Schumer, and our senators and our delegation worked so hard to get this money to the state, but the money has not been distributed in the way I'm satisfied with. We talked about ways we can work together even now. I'll be convening the bureau presidents to talk about a plan we have, $1 million to get the word out that people who are behind in their rent because of COVID over the last 18 months are eligible for dollars right now, and if they apply, and this is the good news, they don't know this, if they apply for this money in New York State, you cannot be evicted for a solid year. So that gives people a little breathing room. We want to reimburse the landlords, make people whole. People don't know about this, so I'm going to be working at the local level to get the message out. So we're having those conversations, but also we're going to have results as a result of those conversations. That's going to be the difference, and also people will find that I don't engage in drama. I don't have time for that. It's all about getting things done.

Mika Brzezinski: I love it. Governor Hochul, as part of my 50 over 50 partnership with Forbes, we highlight and celebrate women well over 50 reaching their highest heights. And your birthday's Friday, 63rd birthday, happy birthday. And I love asking this question to fabulous women over 50, did you ever imagine as a much younger woman, did you ever imagine and think about your career after 50?

Governor Hochul: No. I'll tell you what, and thank you for pointing out I'm well over 50. I'm not sure how to take that.

Mika Brzezinski: Me too.

Governor Hochul: Yes I'm well over 50. I can handle that. When I was a teenager, 13-year-old, social studies class in my public school, I learned about government. And at that time people were saying, what do you want to be when you grow up? I decided at age 13, and no one in my family is in politics or law, but I wanted to be a lawyer so someday I could work as a top aide to see a U.S. senator. By the time I was 27, I was an attorney on the staff of Senator Moynihan. So that's as far as I had career planning, Mika, so the rest has been being prepared for opportunities and it's been successful. So I never look at the next rung, and that's perhaps why I get to the next rung, because I'm focused on the job at hand, and always have been. So I've considered every level of government I have served, and even town board, when you're so directly connected to the people. You're in the grocery store trying to get your shopping done, and people are saying, well, my sewers are backed up, what are you going to do about it? Well, let me get my plunger. I'll come right over and fix it. So I'm really hard wired to focus on local issues, but now I bring that knowledge to the job I'm in now, and it really changes my perspective, and I want people to have a very different perspective of their state government whenever my term is over and people start evaluating my legacy. So to answer your question, I don't have a plan B, I don't know what I'm doing career wise next other than I'm going to be the best damn Governor this state has ever seen.

Mika Brzezinski: There you go, and by the way, every woman I asked had no clue, they never planned over 50, but let's just plan on turning the phrase well over 50 to doing very well over 50. New York Governor Kathy Hochul.

Governor Hochul: Thank you. Thank you for adjusting.

Mika Brzezinski: New York Governor Kathy Hochul. Thank you very much for being on. It's great to get to know you. Thank you so much.

Willie Geist: Thanks, Governor.

Governor Hochul: Thanks, Mika.

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