It was a whole hell of a lot closer than she wanted, but Kathy Hochul will remain governor of New York — having narrowly won voters’ mandate in her own spotlight, out of the long shadow of Andrew Cuomo. Best of luck to her. The challenges the state faces are significant indeed, requiring Hochul to show more independence and more mettle than she exhibited in the last year-plus at the helm, during which she largely went with the Democratic Party flow, presumably to ensure she’d win election.
On the state budget, Hochul must hold the line as billions in federal aid evaporates, Wall Street profits fall to earth and the work-from-home revolution settles in. That requires setting more cash aside for a potential downturn and ensuring that progressives in the Legislature don’t commit the state to huge, unsustainable new spending commitments.
She’ll have to ensure $4.2 billion in borrowed Environmental Bond Act money is spent smartly. And she should rethink the state’s financially shaky, overblown plans to renovate Penn Station and rezone the surrounding area, which bigfoot the city.
On crime — the issue that lit a fire under Lee Zeldin, powering his shockingly strong run in this heavily Democratic state — Hochul already won reforms to deeply flawed bail reforms in the last budget, but the work is not done. The 2023 budget cycle demands another push to give judges the flexibility to factor into pretrial detention decisions whether or not the accused appears to present a significant danger to the community, as they can in all other states and under the federal system. She must also follow through on giving the state and localities and courts more tools to get seriously mentally ill people the treatment they badly need.
In the wake of the worst of COVID, Hochul has thrown billions at health-care workers and hospitals. She must do more to strategically tame New York’s spending without harming the quality of treatment. She must also follow through in overseeing an independent review of what went wrong as the deadly virus spread rapidly in 2020 and 2021, before another pandemic appears. Mistakes should be diagnosed with specificity and candor, and pragmatic reforms swiftly implemented.
In this year’s budget, Hochul took some big swings at spurring the production of more affordable housing in New York City and throughout the state. Didn’t happen. This year she’ll have to have another go at spurring more density in transit-rich suburban areas and encouraging more accessory dwelling units, or granny flats, all throughout New York. California’s Gavin Newsom should be a role model here.
The state stands at a crossroads on implementation of adult-use marijuana, having been so slow to license dispensaries that a gray market has rushed in. Rollout of the new market must happen swiftly, while ensuring strict regulation of product and sales to make certain that minors, among others, are protected.
Speaking of legal vices, Hochul has already thrown in with those who want more casinos. That’s unfortunate, but as plans go forward, the voices of New Yorkers concerned about the downside of gambling — including more addicts and other antisocial behavior — must be heard.
On education, Hochul erred this year when she signed a bad bill lowering class-size caps in New York, foisting an incredibly costly unfunded mandate of dubious educational value on city schools. In the gubernatorial debate with Zeldin, she said she supported lifting the cap on charter schools, a more hopeful sign that isn’t captive to the teachers union’s agenda. To the extent that her voice on the issue matters, she should also support the Board of Regents’ push to ensure that yeshivas provide a secular education that’s substantially equivalent to the public schools, as required by law.
Depending on what appeals courts do, the rushed, sweeping gun laws the Legislature passed and Hochul signed in the wake of the terrible Supreme Court ruling invalidating New York’s old concealed carry law may need yet another rewrite. This time, do it right.
Thousands of donors gave Hochul millions of campaign cash; many of them will expect her to hew to their priorities. So too, the progressives that continue to call the shots in the Legislature will expect her to tow their line. For the good of the state, with principle and pragmatism, Hochul must chart her own course. It’s her time now.
