It appears Gov. Kathy Hochul devoted plenty of time and energy racking up a record-breaking, nearly $22 million in campaign donations during her early months in the state’s top office.
Hochul’s recently released daily work schedules show she attended 224 “private events” over a three-month period, from October through December.
It’s unclear how many of these private events were for fundraising or other campaign activities, and Hochul’s office could not immediately provide a breakdown on Saturday.
Unlike her predecessor, ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Hochul’s released schedules don’t specify which blocks of time are campaign-related.
However, the vast number of “private events” on her schedule offers a first glimpse of the extra time she had on her hands to help amass $21.9 million in campaign funds from Aug. 13 to Jan. 14 — a record amount for a state filing period.
Rep. Tom Suozzi has accused Hochul of putting lobbyists and donors ahead of regular New Yorkers. Matthew McDermott for NY PostHochul – who replaced scandal-scarred Cuomo in August after the disgraced pol resigned amid a sexual harassment scandal — attended 88 private events in October, 70 in November and 66 in December, records show. Her schedule also notes attending two private events in August and 47 in September.
Top Albany lobbying firms have hosted at least a dozen fundraisers for Hochul, and her schedule often notes back-to-back “private events” while she was scheduled to be in the New York City area — suggesting meetings with potential donors, according to the Times Union, which first reported on her schedule.
The newspaper also noted she used helicopters and other taxpayer-funded state aircraft 62 times traveling from October through December.
Long Island Rep. Tom Suozzi, who is challenging Hochul in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, slammed Hochul’s work schedule, alleging she’s putting lobbyists and donors ahead of regular New Yorkers.
“It’s an abuse of the office she inherited, a violation of trust and of our ethics laws, all on top of an administration that is failing New Yorkers,” said Suozzi, who had $5.2 million in his campaign coffers as of mid-January.






