Every time Governor Kathy Hochul visits an Irish bar, she finds the owner and asks them which county their family is from. Before settling into a booth with Hell Gate on Wednesday, she established that the owner of T.J. Byrnes in Lower Manhattan is from County Wicklow, and shared that her family is from County Kerry—hence her love of their eponymous butter.
If you have one Guinness and 28 minutes with the governor, you end up transitioning rapidly between some pretty dissonant topics. Why does she enjoy axe-throwing? What percent is she a socialist? Who's her favorite Buffalo Bill? What's her message for Palestinian New Yorkers on the third anniversary of October 7?
Governor Hochul held on for the ride, and through it all her opponent, Bruce Blakeman, the Republican Nassau County Executive trying to deny her reelection, came up surprisingly little. (In case you're wondering, our interview took place the day before ICE shot a man in Manhattan Thursday.)
Here are three major takeaways from our conversation, which you can listen to on our podcast feed here. Or watch it on YouTube below! (You can also find a full transcript here).
Income inequality? Definitely. Taxing the rich this year? Maybe.