Earlier today, Governor Kathy Hochul attended a swearing-in ceremony for local elected officials in Peekskill. During her remarks, the governor emphasized the importance of public service and highlighted the achievements of Mayor Vivian Mackenzie.
“Good morning, and welcome to 2026. I love the enthusiasm in Peekskill, that’s got to be better than 2025, right? Just saying. I’m so happy to be here, but first of all to our reverend, tell your father I took you very seriously. Despite the glasses, I thought you really hit on our moral responsibility to each other and to lift up not our own good, but the public good, right. So I want to thank her for reminding us of why many of us are drawn to public service.”
Governor Hochul praised Mayor Mackenzie’s leadership: “Thank you to our administrator, but I also you’ll be hearing me as I swear in our Mayor, but what an extraordinary leader you have in your Mayor. I just want to say, and I’ve been to a lot of cities and towns and across the State since I’ve been elected. I was on a town board in 1994, I was elected to a town board, and I’ve seen everybody. But she really stands up, stands out. She loves her work, she loves her community. She has a common sensibility about how to solve today’s problems, but is forward thinking and has a vision for the future. And that’s what gravitates me to where I wanted to be here today to officially swear her in along with our other council members. So let’s give another round of applause to our Mayor Vivian Mackenzie.”
The governor recognized several other officials present at the event including Senator Pete Harckham: “Senator Pete Harckham, let’s offer him congratulations on getting married — wonderful. I remember coming around when he was first running for office. Kind of a long shot back then, but we did a lot of campaigning together, and I so appreciate and look forward to a big win again this year. And our council members Jim Creighton and Brian Fassett.”
Hochul reflected on past initiatives in Peekskill: “She reflected on how when I was Lieutenant Governor, I came and announced your $10 million Downtown Revitalization Initiative. And so she is overseeing this project, of course I always say how far along are we? Like 90% – that’s better than most communities, so congratulations on that.” The governor also noted progress toward housing development in Westchester County and Long Island while urging continued efforts: “But also what I really appreciate is her desire to overcome all the obstacles that exist in places like Westchester and Long Island and some others – about building more housing… You must build more housing. And that’s the only thing that’s holding back our State and beautiful regions like the Hudson Valley.”
Governor Hochul spoke about challenges facing local government leaders: “And I’m just pleading with all of you to support the mayor and the city council to get the job done… Having served 14 years in local government, I know there are a lot of challenges.” She shared personal anecdotes from her time serving locally.
The governor also addressed concerns related to public safety: “So I’m looking forward to swearing everybody in. Again gratitude to our chief of police because it’s all about public safety. If you can’t walk the streets and feel safe nothing else matters… And we’ve made a real difference in driving crime down. And I’ve supported law enforcement locally with $3.9 billion no one has ever spent that much money.”
She concluded by encouraging newly sworn-in officials: “There’s nothing that can stop you when you have a dream and a belief that’s going to be good for the people that you are elected to represent and seize that power embrace it and put it to fantastic use…”
B-roll footage from today’s ceremony is available via YouTube links provided by Governor Hochul’s office.