Rep. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.) was reunited Wednesday with her first Hill boss and mentor, John LaFalce (D). 

The former New York Congressman caught up with his protégé at the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress reception held in Statuary Hall. The newest Member of Congress was spotted chatting with LaFalce — who also stood with her on stage when she won the special election in May.

“Congressman LaFalce has been a great inspiration,” Hochul tells HOH. “[He was] a mentor and a friend throughout my career. My first experience on Capitol Hill came while working in his office, and it was an honor to have him with me on the floor of the House of Representatives on the day I was sworn in.”

“We are still very close,” she says. Hochul was LaFalce’s legal counsel from 1984 to 1986 before moving to the office of then-Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (D-N.Y.).

A quick fashion aside: HOH hears that LaFalce, 72, was looking pretty stylish and spry rocking a gorgeous cane at the event.