New York Gov. Kathy Hochul’s top aide is married to a lobbyist who represent clients such as Verizon, Airbnb and Alphabet‘s Google.
Hochul named Karen Persichilli Keogh, a veteran of Hillary Clinton’s U.S. Senate office and the wife of longtime lobbyist Mike Keogh, as secretary to the governor. Prior to taking her new job with Hochul, Karen Keogh was an executive at Wall Street giant J.P. Morgan Chase, where she once held a state lobbying position.
The secretary to the governor is a crucial position in New York’s state government. Melissa DeRosa held the job under Andrew Cuomo, who resigned this week due to a sexual harassment scandal. DeRosa was mentioned repeatedly in a report by the New York State Attorney General detailing alleged instances of Cuomo sexually harassing at least 11 women. Cuomo has denied wrongdoing.
DeRosa was also tied to a major Albany lobbyist: her father Giorgio DeRosa, who is a leader at Bolton St. Johns. Mike Keogh is a partner at the same firm.
After an inquiry from CNBC, a spokesman for the firm said in an email Thursday that Mike Keogh will not lobby Hochul or her team.
“For over 20 years, Bolton-St Johns’ entire firm has followed all ethics rules and laws, and Mr. Keogh has decided he will not lobby the Executive Chamber,” the spokesman said.
A spokeswoman for the governor later said the secretary to the governor will recuse herself in any discussions and decisions related to her husband’s lobbying efforts.
Mike Keogh has several marquee clients that have recently been trying to influence New York lawmakers and officials – including Hochul’s office when she was lieutenant governor – according to state disclosure reports. Mike Keogh and his team lobbied Hochul’s staff as recently as June.
Hochul’s office said at the time of Karen Keogh’s appointment that “recusals will be put in place by midnight to ensure that any New York State business relating to the secretary’s spouse will be delegated in order to prevent any appearance of conflicts of interest.”
The Keogh situation nonetheless presents a complicated problem for the new governor. The corporations represented by Mike Keogh conduct extensive business in the state. Google, for instance, has said it plans to invest $250 million in New York City this year with more jobs on the way.
Among other items, Verizon announced last year it would were investing $43 million in New York City, in a bid to help provide digital learning tools to students who were forced to work from home due to the coronavirus pandemic.
A Hochul press representative did not respond to CNBC’s follow up questions about how exactly Keogh is going to recuse herself from her spouse’s work.
Hochul said this week that a stronger ethics code will be part of her new administration, which will include “requiring ethics training for every employee of New York State government,” she said on Tuesday. Hochul on Thursday announced New York State Senator Brian Benjamin will be her lieutenant governor.
The governor…
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