Editor’s Note: The following is an extended and updated version of the story that appears in our latest print edition.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has picked former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams as her running mate in her upcoming bid to win reelection later this year in the New York Democratic Primary. As reported, Adams most recently ran (unsuccessfully) for mayor, visiting Norwood, at least twice, after announcing her run for mayor.

 

The all-female ticket is a gubernatorial first. As reported, the Bronx made history as the first New York City borough to be led by two women when Borough President Vanessa Gibson chose now former Deputy Borough President Janet Peguero as her running mate.

 

As reported, Peguero has since resigned and now works as chief operating officer at Constantinople & Vallone Consulting in New York City. She also recently joined the Board of the Bronx Children’s Museum. Norwood News had asked Gibson’s office if Peguero would be replaced. We were advised this week that there is no update currently. Gibson was recently sworn in for her second term during a ceremony held at the Lehman Center for the Performing Arts in Bedford Park. More to follow.

 

Speaking at an unrelated event on Sunday, Feb. 8, when asked about Hochul’s choice of Adams as her latest lieutenant governor pick,  Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz (A.D. 81), said, “I don’t have a strong opinion on that, I’m worried about getting the governor elected,” he said.

“Who the lieutenant governor is is mostly immaterial, but I’m fine with it,” he continued. Asked what he thinks the governor’s biggest challenge will be in the upcoming elections, he said, “Well, you know we’re facing a lot of problems in New York right now because of the federal government. I think that is the biggest challenge that we face.”

 

He added, “The more we can do to change the federal government, the better, and this year [..] electing Democratic congress members is a good way to start that. We can’t elect a new president until 2028 but we can help shift control of the Congress in 2026.” As reported, low voter turnout between presidential elections was a point discussed during a recent campaign event by the Unity Democratic Club in The Bronx, and by the Bronx NAACP in the past.

 

When we put it to Council Member Eric Dinowitz (C.D. 11), the assemblyman’s son, at the same Feb. 8 event, that the position of lieutenant governor could perhaps be seen as more of a sidekick role, the councilman said, “Just ask David Patterson and Kathy Hochul how they feel about it being a sidekick position.”

 

Both while serving as lieutenants ascended to the role of governor when the then-incumbent governors resigned. In the case of Hochul, as reported, it was in the context of a sexual harassment scandal involving former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. The U.S. Department of Justice has since reached a settlement with the New York State Governor’s Office in relation to the allegations.

It followed an investigation into the allegations by New York Attorney General Letitia James, allegations for which Cuomo apologized. Read more here. Meanwhile, Patterson took office following former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s resignation, amid a prostitution-related scandal. Read more here.

 

Meanwhile, the council member, who recently served under Adams as speaker in the council, continued, “You never know what’s going to happen in this world and lieutenant governor is a very important position, and can, and historically has, ascended to the governorship.

 

“Under Adrienne Adams, a lot of my very important, impactful legislation has passed, including the bill to support kid’s with IEPs (individualized educational program) transition from high school to college, the bills that help older adults in Mitchel Lamas (housing e.g. Tracey Towers) get their rent-freeze applications, the [inaudible] bill about requiring more two and more bedroom apartments for affordable housing construction so under her leadership, we’ve passed,” he said.

 

Asked if he was surprised Adams did not go further in the Democratic mayoral primary in June 2025, having finished fourth behind now New York City Zohran Mamdani, Cuomo, and former City Comptroller Brad Lander, the councilman said, “Look, the winner is the winner, right?”

 

He added, “It was always an uphill battle. She got in there very late into the process, and there was even a question of whether she would have petitioning in time. Remember Zohran Mamdani did the fundraising video for her on his Instagram, on his TikTok, asking people to contribute small dollars while he was also running [for mayor], because it’s ranked choice so because of the timing, I think that was already a challenge for her.”

 

Hochul’s first lieutenant governor, Brian Benjamin, resigned on April 12, 2022, following his arrest on campaign finance corruption charges, which he denied.

On Jan. 17, 2025, the charges against Benjamin were dropped in federal court following the death on Feb. 9, 2024, of Bronx-born, cooperating witness and co-defendant, Gerald Migdol, 73, and based on a review of the evidence in the case. In June 2025, Benjamin’s successor, Hochul’s latest and now also former lieutenant governor, Anthony Delgado, announced in February 2025 that he would not seek another term and in June 2025, launched a challenge against his then-boss for the top job in a campaign presented as progressive.

 

Hochul had recently been in talks to resolve with the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) strike amid a climate of increasing pressure from the progressive wing of the Democratic Party to improve the lives of everyday working New Yorkers, and from younger New York voters focused on affordability, while simultaneously fighting her reelection campaign.

 

The latter reportedly involves keeping her donors, some of whom are large private hospitals, according to NYSNA, happy. A tentative agreement to the strike was agreed on Sunday, Feb. 8, between NYSNA, New York Presbyterian, and Montefiore and on Monday, Feb. 9, Mount Sinai announced they had also reached a tentative agreement with the union. More to follow.

 

Delgado recently received the endorsement of New York Communities for Change but on Tuesday, Feb. 10, he announced he was suspending his campaign. Read our story on his latest announcement here. The announcement came on the back of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani announcing his endorsement of Hochul for reelection.

 

As reported, Hochul had endorsed the mayor during his campaign last year. During a campaign rally in Queens, when the governor appeared on stage with Senate Speaker Andrea Stewart Cousins and Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, the crowd was heard chanting, “Tax the Rich!” to which Hochul responded, “I hear you.”

 

Meanwhile, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) was seen defending Hochul (and other Democratic governors) during a congressional hearing last year during which Republicans grilled Democrats including Hochul over the death of a New Yorker allegedly at the hands of criminals who they say ICE was working to remove from the country, and challenging Hochul’s stance over the State’s sanctuary status.

Meanwhile, at the same Feb. 8th event in The Bronx referenced above, we also spoke to Congressman Ritchie Torres (NY-15) about Adams as the lieutenant governor pick. “I am a great admirer of Adrienne Adams,” he said. “We served in the City Council. We actually sat together when I served as a city council member. She’s a trail blazer. She’s the first Black woman to ever serve as speaker in America’s largest city and so it’s gratifying to see a friend and trailblazing public servant become the lieutenant governor.”

 

There was a suggestion that Torres might have been contemplating also challenging Hochul in the past but as reported, he has since given the governor his backing.

 

We asked the congressman if he had any insight into the recent reports about how allegedly there was a suggestion that the Brooklyn Democratic Party had not been sufficiently consulted about Adams as the lieutenant governor pick. “I cannot comment on anything outside my knowledge but it’s powerful to have two powerful women run leading the State of New York so.. ” Torres said. When we mentioned that the bronx led the way with Gibson and Peguero, he added, “The Bronx led the way and as The Bronx goes, so goes the rest of the State.”