Video, Audio, Photos & Rush Transcript: Governor Hochul Announces Selection of Senator Brian Benjamin for Lieutenant Governor

Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul announced the selection of Brian Benjamin for Lieutenant Governor. Senator Benjamin and Governor Hochul have previously worked together on several key issues, including fighting the opioid epidemic and boosting addiction recovery programs, supporting MWBE business owners and making it easier for New Yorkers to vote.

Senator Benjamin previously served as the New York State Senator for District 30 - which encompasses Harlem, East Harlem, and the Upper West Side - Chairman of the Senate Committee on Revenue and Budget and Senior Assistant Majority Leader, where he distinguished himself as a leader in criminal justice reform and affordable housing. Senator Benjamin remains heavily involved in his community in Harlem.

VIDEO is available on YouTube here and in TV quality (h.264, mp4) format here.

AUDIO is available here.

PHOTOS will be available here.

A rush transcript of the speakers' remarks is available below:

Reverend Al Sharpton: Good afternoon. We come for an occasion that makes us very proud. As the state begins a healing process, dealing with COVID and other issues, there is no better place for our new governor to come to make this announcement than a community that has had to heal and struggle at the same time historically. This is a community that knows how to handle situations and keep functioning, and that is why it is very appropriate that the governor chose to make this announcement today. Now we also want to make a note to you that we're not welcoming her to Harlem.

She has been to Harlem more times than she can remember, and she has done it when she was not governor and not lieutenant governor. She's coming to deal with friends and people that have worked with her. So in many ways it is her continuing in the bonding and the relationships that she's established down through the years. The day that it was announced that she was going to be governor, she called me and said, reverend, the first thing I did was dropped to my knees and asked God for guidance and ask God for strength. That's the kind of governor we need, someone that looks beyond themselves.

She has chosen and will be announcing a son of Harlem that grew up in our community, that has been with National Action Network and NAACP all of his life. So all of you that don't know why Hazel and I are up here, because we've been with Brian from day one, so don't blame the governor. Blame Brian's background.

So it is my honor and privilege to welcome and bring to the podium, not as we would call her 'Kathy' before, now the governor of the State of New York, Governor Kathy Hochul.

Governor Hochul: Good afternoon. Are we having fun yet my friends? It is so great to be back in Harlem. There's such a vibe here, such an energy, that even during the depths of COVID you just couldn't beat us down and I feel it powerful today than I ever have before in my life.

I want to thank Reverend Al for being here. Reverend Al has so much on his plate. He's heading off to Washington, D.C., to do something that is critically important. He's fighting for our democracy. That's what it comes down to - fighting for our democracy - and I thank him for being at the forefront of that battle for voting rights and I can pledge that the State of New York will be there right at your side, Reverend Al.

You tell us what you need and we'll be there. I also want to recognize someone who has become very dear friend over the last decade for me - Hazel Dukes. The mother of Harlem, the mother of New York and the mother of New York State because she has a heart of cold and she is a fighter. That's the combination of women I draw strength from - heart of gold, but don't mess with her. Am I right about that, my friends? So I'm going to continue to rely on her great advice and friendship.

Also right in this very neighborhood will be the brand-new glimmering headquarters of the National Urban League, and I'm very excited to be here for the groundbreaking and ribbon cutting. It will be the first museum dedicated to civil rights here in the city.

Now two days ago I took office as your governor - a very high honor for me, and it's still humbling to this very moment. And I spoke to you about some of my priorities, the urgent need to defeat COVID and right now the Delta variant and how we need to get more people vaccinated. And our numbers are good, my friends, but they're not great. And this is the great State of New York. Let's take those vaccination numbers and put them through the roof. Let's do it now. Let's start protecting people. Let's start saving lives.

But also to make sure that we get our kids back to school. My God, these kids have been through so much. Our teachers, the kids, and the poor parents who've had their kids at home all this time. They're the ones who are really stressed. I'm a mom. I know this. So we've got to get these kids back to school, especially those from Black and brown communities, where the kids sometimes don't have the easiest shot in life. They need to get back to an environment that's nurturing and caring and we have to protect them and we have to protect our teachers, our amazing teachers who've been showing up to be there for our children.

So we're going to have a mask mandate. Get used to it, my friends, I'm going to make sure that that environment for school is safe for our children, teachers, and administrators, and that's why we're going to have that across the State of New York.

We also have COVID assistance, money that was hard fought by Joe Biden, our president, and our majority leader in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, a great friend of ours, and Senator Gillibrand and our entire congressional delegation, my former colleagues in Congress. We fought to bring the money to New York and that money is not out the way it should be. So I'm going to be deploying a SWAT team to get that rental relief out and get it out now, so you can count on that.

We're going to work with our city partners, and get used to that word, my friends, ourcity partners. We're going to get more done working together and I've already initiated those conversations.

But one thing I want renters to know - if you apply and qualify for the rent relief program, no one can evict you for a solid year after that. Please get that out to your friends and colleagues and family members. We're going to protect you for a year, but you have to come in the door and apply for that.

Also, we're going to do something that might be hard for some people, but this one's really easy for me. We're going to change the culture in our State Capitol so people are proud to be New Yorkers and anyone who works in the state and walks through the halls and considers themselves one of those hardworking state employees, you're going to have a whole different environment that welcomes you back to work.

That's what my commitment is to the people work hard in buildings like these all over the State of New York. If you are on the front line, delivering services to the people of New York, then you deserve to have a welcoming, inclusive, safe environment, safe from sexual harassment. Let's me rephrase that. You will be free from any kind of a harassment and the buck stops with me to make sure that that happens. That's the new hallmark of my administration.

So we have a bold agenda, and this is all just in the first week, my friends. We have a lot to do and I look forward to making announcements about the members of my team, and we will assemble the best and the brightest that the state and the country have to offer in terms of assembling people to lead our state forward as my partners - which brings me to today.

I'm so happy to be here in Harlem to announce, and I think this is a secret. You don't know what I'm going to say. Right? You're all here for a big surprise. Okay, do you guys know something already? Man, there's no secrets. There's no secrets.

I am so delighted to announce my partner - and the word partner means something to me. Someone who works side by side in the trenches. Someone who will be out there championing our policies and our administration's agenda in every corner of the state with a real focus on New York City because New York City needs our help and this individual is someone who's been through the trenches, starting locally where he was on his community board, where he worked his way up to elective office and someone I've become a dear friend of in the Senate.

And I'm not just talking about our time in Albany because as you know, I spend as little time there as possible. He has been a champion of criminal justice reform affordable housing and tenant protections - three huge priorities of mine as well. And he's built a track record of great accomplishments already.

And I'm no stranger to him either. Just a year ago during the pandemic we were registering voters outside Sylvia's. Anybody there with us? We were literally going up to people - are you registered, are you registered? We did this together. In December we were at the community kitchen, packing up meals for people that were in pain and suffering. We worked on that together and just last month I was at the Samaritan Daytop Village Center visiting young mothers who were recovering from addition. Too many of our families have had to face this specter of dealing with someone, and sometimes they lost someone they cared deeply about because of addiction. Many of you know the story of what happened to my own nephew, a young man with great promise, who started off taking prescription drugs for workplace injury, developed an addiction, found himself in and out of jail, found himself and out of recovery centers and on the streets, eventually. We tried so hard. So to those families, I know the pain you're going through, and we're going to make sure that we do everything in our power to stop that. And the person I'm going to announce is equally committed as.

So I'm not going to keep you in suspense one second longer, my friends, but there is someone and any truth to the rumor that I'm picking this person, because I love his wife and baby girl, Caroline is not true, but she is the cutest little girl in the State of New York. I am here to introduce my partner, Caroline's father, Brian Benjamin, New York Senator.

Brian Benjamin: Harlem! Harlem! Harlem! Oh my God. What a day, what a day! 125th Street, Adam Clayton Powell. We are here today.

Let me first give a big, thank you to our governor, Miss Kathy Hochul, give her a round of applause.

Someone told me it was a rally today. So I'm in rally mode. You know, Governor Hochul is someone who I have a lot of faith in and it's not just because we did so many important things together over my four years as being a state senator. It's because of the moments we had, the conversations we had, where I was able to see inside her heart. And I knew the kind of person she was before she had power. And you could tell a lot about someone before they have that ultimate power. A kind woman, a person of integrity, a person who believes that constituent services matter and believes that it's bigger than us. It's about the people of the State of New York. That is your governor, Kathy Hochul.

You know, my first week as a state senator, she called me and said, Senator, I want to come see you. I said, well, you know, I'm touring Eighth Avenue because we have small businesses, Black and women owned businesses, that we want to make sure can survive. This was way before we even got to a pandemic, which has been terrible for everyone.

But she said, Brian, I'm going to come and I'm going to walk with you. She put on a walking shoes, we hit Eighth Avenue, we then hit Lenox Avenue. This is a woman who cares about the entire state, and that is the kind of governor we can be proud of and we can work with, to make sure that we get through this pandemic, we can get to a great recovery. We will do that under the leadership of my friend, my sister, my governor, Kathy Hochul.

Next, I want to thank my parents who are sitting in the front row. My mother. I love you so much, Mom. My dad. It was tough for us growing up. We've been through so much. I won't embarrass us here today, Mom, I won't do it, but just know that I would not be half the man I am today. If it wasn't for your love. And my father who is actually my stepfather, but he's really my father, because anyone who can raise a young man, particularly one was not his, that's a great man. That's a great man.

They taught me to show up every day, work hard. It doesn't matter what title you have. Titles are nothing when it comes down to it at the end of the day. What matters is what's in your heart. What do you stand for? What do you believe? What are you willing to fight for? That is what I learned from my parents. And I love you so very much.

To my wife and daughter, Cathleen and Caroline, who have been my rock. It's not easy being a state senator and it's definitely not easy being a state senator in Harlem. Y'all know because y'all gave me all kinds of noise every day. I know you do. But then when I see you, but I'm able to go home and I have a great wife who has a great job of her own, and she just got promoted herself. And a great family. And I just want to thank you for being on this journey with me, for allowing me to do this quite frankly. I mean, this is a team effort, and I want to thank you. And I love you so much.

And of course I have to thank my entire Harlem family. My entire Harlem family, elected officials. I see Inez and Reverend Al. Now Community Board Number 10, where are y'all at? The National Action Network Family. You know, some people think you learn things when you go to brown and Harvard, they don't know anything until you come to Harlem. That's when you learn what's really going on, you know?

And lastly, I want to thank Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who could not be here today. She could not be here today, but she sends her love. She says I always have a home with her, but she really gave me an opportunity to see what selfless leadership really looks like. You know, many, but I saw Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins when she was Senate Minority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins. And she was not treated well when I first got to the Senate, but she said, you know what? I am not going to engage in petty politics. I'm not going to engage in personal attacks when they go low, I'm going to go high. It's one thing to say. It's another thing to do it. And I watched her do it. And then I watched her become the Senate majority leader, the first black woman to ever be the leader of the New York State Senate. I am so proud of her. And I look forward to working with her as the next lieutenant governor.

Let me just say a couple of quick points, because I was told to be brief, but you know, Harlem is the complicated place. Being brief in Harlem is hard. But let me say a couple of quick points. We have so many fights that we have to wage: gun violence, gun violence in our community. We've got to make sure that we keep our kids safe. The homeless problem. Homelessness is a massive problem. Affordable housing, huge problem. The Delta variant, COVID. We just thought we were getting out of COVID and here we are. We got to put the mask back on, but you know what? We owe it to each other to keep each other safe. Because it's not about any of us. It's about all of us. We got to make sure that our renters and landlords and workers who have been hurting because of COVID get the relief that's already here for them to receive. New York State government has to work, and Governor Kathy Hochul, I will do everything I can to help you and make sure that we deliver for the State of New York.

Look, I've got very big shoes to fill because there has been no lieutenant governor who has traveled this state, all 62 counties, working hard. There is no one more ready to be governor right now, than Governor Kathy Hochul. But I'm up for the task. I got Harlem by my side. Do I have Harlem by my side?

I just sort of asked the question. But let me just say I do. Thank you, Erica. Can I just have a Harlem moment please? But let me just say in closing, and this is very important to me, when I left banking to get involved in public service full time. I left and I decided that I wanted to devote my life to public service. A lot of people thought I was crazy. They thought that I had no idea what I was doing. They didn't believe. And now I can stand here and say to every one of you, anyone listening at home, pursue your dreams, follow your passions. Believe in yourself, even when no one else believes in you and surround yourself with people who support you, real warriors, real fighters, real people who, when you're on your darkest moment, on your darkest day, they will say to you, we can make it. We have God by our side, we have each other, we have love, we will do this. I never, in a million years, would have imagined I would be standing here as the lieutenant governor of the state of New York

But God had bigger plans for me, Mama Hazel, God had bigger plans and he has bigger plans for all of us. But he needs us. We need each other to pursue our dreams, to pursue what we are here to do. So many young kids who are walking down 125th Street right now need to know that this world is here for them and we need to help them take it. Government has to help them take it. Our community needs government to work, and that's what we will do for the state of New York. Thank you very much. I love you, Harlem. I love you all of New York.

Governor Hochul: I'll take that as a 'yes'. Thank you for accepting the extraordinary honor and we'll have a swearing in ceremony right after Labor Day to make sure that we can have the special election for your soon-to-be vacant seat to coincide with the November election to save taxpayer dollars. So we're going to have a great celebration then.

I also, before I bring up our final speaker, Hazel Dukes, I do want to acknowledge the many, many people who have joined us here today. People I've become very close to. I believe that our, our chairman of the state democratic committee, Jay Jacobs is here. Jay, thank you so much. It's a very special day. I'm delighted that you came with us.

I just spoke to with our County Democratic Chair for New York, Keith Wright, who sends his support, his love, he just couldn't be here, but we'll see him at the swearing in. Also someone who's been a frequent friend of mine, longtime friend of mine, someone I see all over the state when she's not doing her responsibilities here in Manhattan is our Manhattan Borough President, Gale Brewer. Gale, thank you for being here. And someone who's introduced me to some of the most fun I've had in Harlem at her parties, Assemblymember Inez Dickens. Are you out there? Where is Inez? There you are. Hello sister. Assemblymember Al Taylor has joined us as well. These are all part of my, my breakfast club. We get together a lot, so thank you very much for joining us.

And of course, I want to thank the entire village of Harlem for creating this amazing young man who's going to help us lead the state into better days and great prosperity. Thank you, my friend, for saying yes, and I want to bring up someone who I just love.

I lost my mom seven years ago and I feel her loss every single day, but I feel her strength. And somehow I think mom, you had something to do with all this, but my mom on earth is Hazel Dukes. She has befriended me, she has stood with me through thick and thin, she's my spiritual advisor, she's my mom advisor, and she calls me all the time and I pick up the phone and say, what do you need, Hazel? Let me introduce the queen of Harlem, the queen of New York, our great Hazel Dukes.

Hazel Dukes: This is the day that the Lord has made. And I, second mother of Brian Benjamin, can rejoice in it. The first mom is there. This is amazing that he stands here, but he was born in Harlem Hospital. Mother couldn't give birth at Columbia, but came to Harlem Hospital. So this is a Harlem-born and bred boy that we bring before New York State today. They might not know Brian, but I know him. So I'm going to tell you New York State about Brian Benjamin.

A young man I met at a fish fry on 135th Street. They told me that he was somebody looking to do some things and wanting to be somebody, although he had been at Harvard and Brown, but he wanted to be a servant, a public servant. So they said, why don't you talk to him. Now, they hadn't started calling me Mama Dukes at that time, but later they picked that up. So I said to him, come here, young man, come here, young man, at the fish fry, and I wanted to know, what did he want to do?

So he talked about, well, you know, Harlem is this and Harlem is that. I said, you're absolutely right. Rose was there - the one that helped make him. We stood with him, nurtured him. So New York State, I stand here today unequivocal, honored to tell you that our governor has chosen a young African-American male, reared in a home of parents that loved and cared for him, that said to him, and Reverend Sharpton got ahold of him, you know, sat him down like I do, and said, what you going to do? We don't want people just talking. We want people that take action. We want people that go work hard.

I tell you that Brian Benjamin, New York State, will work. I tell you, New York State, that he is loyal. Governor, he'll be loyal. You don't have to look over your shoulder.

When you and Brian sit down and make out your plan, he will carry out the plan. He will work 24/7. I've seen him do this as a State Senator, as I said yesterday, when you know someone you don't have to have a script to read off. You know what you know.

It was right here in Harlem that he did the Eric Garner bill.

It was right here in Harlem, sister girl, that he said he was going to see that women, it was right here, Jackie Rowe-Adams, that he talked about [inaudible], right here in this very plot.

So he's not new, New York. Not to New York City, but let me tell you, New York State, you're going to have a man of integrity, a man of compassion, a man of love to work with this governor.

We will keep New York moving forward. Let me tell you about District 5. Before he got the call, I called him and I said, Brian, I'm having a bad bank. On September the 11, I need some money. He said, what you need, Ma? I told him and I got it.

Our children, they lost this money along with Gale Brewer in a black hole, New York City, but we found the money. Our children in District 5, our children in District 5, we want the same thing they have in District 3 and District 2. We want every resource that is here and I'm sure that when we sit with the governor and talk about the needs across this district and Rochester and Syracuse and Rome, New York, Niagara Falls, we will see that we have one New York, one New York striving together, everybody be inclusive. I know Sister Kathy and Sister Gale, I call them my sisters. We not from the same mother, but we from the same faith of love in each other. So we going to do this.

We going to do it. Harlem, our son Brian Benjamin, on to victory, the whole Benjamin team, on to victory. Let me hear you say it. On to victory.