Gotham Gazette

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Kathy Hochul

Kathy Hochul

  • Hochul Presents $216 Billion Executive Budget with Major Spending Plans, Promise of Fiscal Responsibility

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    Gov. Hochul presents her budget (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)


    Governor Kathy Hochul on Tuesday put forth a $216.3 billion Executive Budget for the 2023 fiscal year, which begins April 1, making massive proposed investments in education, health care, and infrastructure as the state continues on its road to recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Hochul touted a “socially responsible and fiscally prudent” budget plan that will rebuild the state’s health-care and education workforces, provide tax relief to middle

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  • At First Forum of Governor's Race, Democrats Stake Out Positions on Progressive Priorities

    Tom Suozzi, Jumaane Williams, and Kathy Hochul

    (l-r: Tom Suozzi, Jumaane Williams, and Kathy Hochul)


    At the first forum in the Democratic gubernatorial primary race, progressive activists pressed the declared candidates on their positions on prominent pieces of legislation and policy from single-payer health care to good cause eviction and increased funding for climate protection, and more.

    Three candidates are so far running in the Democratic primary for governor that will be decided this June: incumbent Governor Kathy Hochul, U.S. Rep. Tom Suozzi, and New York City

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  • Governor Hochul Must Act Now to Protect Essential Workers

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    Gov. Hochul (photo: Darren McGee/ Governor's Office)


    Essential workers have been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic for two years, risking their lives to keep the rest of us safe and the economy running. These workers don’t have the option to work from home—they are your grocers, nurses, delivery workers, transit operators, retail workers, and more—and they are most vulnerable to this deadly virus. They are also overwhelmingly people of color, women, and immigrants, enduring dangerous jobs for the benefit of the many.

    And now, we look to essential

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  • Promising ‘New Era’ of Collaboration and Sweeping Agenda, Hochul Delivers First State of the State Address

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    Governor Hochul delivers her 2022 State of the State (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)


    Governor Kathy Hochul delivered her first State of the State address on Wednesday, laying out a vision for New York's future as the state enters another year of pandemic and economic recovery. Facing a primary in June, Hochul's speech outlined the agenda of her first — and possibly only — full year in office.

    Speaking to the State Legislature and all New Yorkers from the Assembly Chamber — a return to tradition but a break from her predecessor, disgraced former

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  • Governor Hochul Misses the Mark in First Clemency Considerations, Leaving Despair

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    Gov. Hochul (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of the Governor)


    For arcane and entrenched reasons, clemency, the vast constitutional power of the Governor to commute a person’s prison sentence, is typically granted at the end of the year in a nod toward the spirit of the holidays. As a result, the prayers of the thousands of people in New York prisons who have pending clemency applications rose to a fever pitch once the calendar turned to December. Here was an opportunity for New York’s new Governor, Kathy Hochul, to distinguish herself from her predecessor, who carved

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  • New York Department of Labor Sued Over Failure to Release Unemployment Insurance Information

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    Gov. Hochul presents data (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's Office)


    An advocacy group for low-income communities is suing New York State for documents and data that could shed light on the struggle of non-English speakers to get unemployment insurance during the pandemic.

    The National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ), a legal advocacy organization, filed a lawsuit in New York State Supreme Court last week against the state Department of Labor for documents the group requested under the state Freedom of Information Law.

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  • ‘Less is More’ is Needed Now, Not in March

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    Gov. Hochul signs the Less Is More Act (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of the Governor)


    The state of New York took a moral step recently when Governor Hochul signed into law the Less Is More Act, which aims to soften the draconian parole laws that have disproportionately harmed people of color. Nearly 200 New Yorkers re-joined their families as soon as the bill became law, freeing them from

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  • In the 'New Albany,' State Senate Regularly Outpaces Assembly on Reform

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    The New York State Senate (photo: NY Senate Media Services)


    For years the Democratic majority of the New York State Assembly advanced bills its members knew the Republican-controlled State Senate wouldn't pass. Still other legislation, especially related to government ethics, transparency, and elections, stewed on the backburner with neither majority moving it forward. Those were the days of two-party rule in Albany, of a group of breakaway Democrats who buoyed Republicans, and a governor happy to straddle the middle.

    Since

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  • ​Hochul Signs Two Bills to Protect Domestic Violence Survivors

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    Gov. Kathy Hochul (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of the Governor)


    Governor Kathy Hochul is signing two bills Thursday to protect the personal information and finances of domestic violence survivors fleeing their abusers.

    One bill allows survivors to shield their home address in public records when registering to vote with the Board of Elections. The second bill requires utility companies to ...

  • Hochul Yet to Release Promised Assessment of Hurricane Ida Preparation, Response

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    Gov. Hochul & other officials in Ida's aftermath (photo: Darren McGee/Governor's Office)


    After the powerful remnants of Hurricane Ida hammered the Northeast and killed 16 New Yorkers, Governor Kathy Hochul promised a full review of the state's handling of the catastrophe. Nearly two months later, the governor has not released anything or provided any update about the assessment while questions remain about how the nascent Hochul administration dealt with the storm's approach and arrival. 

    As the storm crossed into New York on

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  • Hochul Releases 'Ironclad' Conflicts of Interest Policy Related to Husband's Work

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    Governor Hochul with her husband (photo: Kevin P. Coughlin/Office of the Governor)


    UPDATE: The day after this article was published by Gotham Gazette (headlined "Hochul Pledges to Release 'Ironclad' Conflicts of Interest Policy"), Governor Hochul released the recusal policies she, Secretary to the Governor Karen P. Keogh, and Lieutenant Governor Brian Benjamin signed related to their private business interests. For Hochul and Keogh the

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  • Patients, Substance Use Treatment Providers Say New State Rule Causes Confusion and Risk

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    Governor Hochul at an addiction-prevention event (photo: governor's office)


    A new state regulation on access to medication-assisted treatment for those with substance use disorders is causing confusion and threatening patients’ recovery, providers say as they call on Governor Kathy Hochul to use her executive authority to immediately fix the problem.

    On October 1, the state Department of Health began implementing a new statewide formulary that outlines coverage parameters for Medicaid patients receiving medication-assisted treatment

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  • Governor Hochul’s Opportunity to Transform New York for Future Generations

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    Gov. Hochul (photo: governor's office)


    We all knew Governor Kathy Hochul would be unique. Simply by virtue of being our state’s first woman executive, she will stand out in history. She entered the office in unfortunate circumstances, not the typical path to New York’s Executive Chamber. But since taking the oath just over a month ago, we’ve seen a governor in action. 

    New York’s 57th governor began her term with a ceremonial swearing in where she wore white, the color of the suffragettes, and noted that “brevity is the hallmark of

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  • What to Watch for as Hochul's 45-Day Transition Period Ends

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    Governor Kathy Hochul (photo: Darren McGee/Office of the Governor)


    Governor Kathy Hochul's self-imposed transition period ends Friday. Hochul has already made a number of changes to the executive chamber and state policy -- but with the end of the 45-day interval she may reveal some key remaining personnel and policy decisions she has promised over the first weeks of her governorship.

    Hochul, a Democrat, asked the public for patience to build her administration over the seven-week window amid an ongoing purge of officials implicated in the

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  • Amid Rising Overdose Deaths, Hochul Urged to End Two-Tiered Addiction Treatment System in New York

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    Then-Gov. Cuomo signs legislation (photo: Darren McGee/Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo)


    In the aftermath of the highest number of overdose deaths recorded in New York State in a single year, advocates and substance use treatment providers are calling on Governor Kathy Hochul to sign what they call a crucial piece of legislation to reverse the trend. Without the new governor’s signature, they say, the state’s recently-established two-tiered substance use treatment system, with greater barriers to access for lower-income New Yorkers, will continue and

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  • Advocates and Journalists Push Hochul to Release Troves of Covid Data

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    Gov. Hochul (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)


    A coalition of advocacy groups is pushing Governor Kathy Hochul to release over 100 datasets related to the coronavirus pandemic in New York that they believe the state is keeping. The groups say that information can be used by scientists, journalists, and advocates to better understand the virus, its impact on public health, and the state's response.

    In a ...

  • ‘Turning the Page on a Long Chapter’: Kathy Hochul's First Month as Governor of New York

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    Gov. Hochul (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)


    Governor Kathy Hochul on Friday marked her first month in office, during which she has responded to several ongoing and new crises, barnstormed the state in public appearances, and sought to begin restoring confidence in state government after nearly three full terms of her disgraced predecessor’s leadership.

    Hochul, a Democrat from Buffalo, continues to carve out the rot of Andrew Cuomo’s administration and build out the top echelons of her executive office as she works to put more

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  • Major State Ethics and Governance Reforms Hoped for Under Hochul

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    Then-Gov. Cuomo with current Gov. Hochul (photo: Governor's Office)


    With the abrupt end of the ten-year reign of Governor Andrew Cuomo, reformers inside and outside of state government are looking for change. Unspooling their wishlist has been a kind of inaugural red carpet for Governor Kathy Hochul, who took office last month after Cuomo resigned amid a flurry of scandal -- almost all connected, in some way, to government ethics, transparency, and the erosion of checks and balances.

    Hochul immediately pledged to take steps to undo Cuomo's

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  • ‘An Amazing Transition’: Andrea Stewart-Cousins on the New Era in State Politics and What’s Next

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    Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins (photo: NY Senate Media Services)


    Amid major upheaval in state government and ongoing pandemic-era crises in New York, State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins is embracing a sense of stability and an opportunity for more collaboration among political leaders.

    During a recent appearance on the Max Politics podcast from Gotham Gazette, Stewart-Cousins, a Democrat

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  • Max Politics Podcast: A Government Reform Agenda for Governor Hochul

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    Gov. Hochul is sworn in (photo: Mike Groll/Office of Governor Kathy Hochul)


    September 01, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: A Government Reform Agenda for Governor Hochul

    John Kaehny, executive director of government watchdog and reform group Reinvent Albany, joined the show to discuss what ethics, transparency, and other reforms Governor Kathy Hochul should prioritize as well as a number of other issues related to how state government works in New York.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter

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  • A 'Machiavellian Manipulator': Michael Gianaris on Andrew Cuomo's Downfall and What's Next

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    Senator Michael Gianaris (photo: NYS Senate)


    Last week, with New York’s executive branch embroiled in scandal and former Governor Andrew Cuomo set to resign, State Senate Deputy Majority Leader Michael Gianaris appeared on Gotham Gazette’s Max Politics Podcast to reflect on Cuomo’s reign and resignation, the political dynamics of Lieutenant Governor Kathy Hochul taking over as the state’s first woman governor, and policy

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  • Fighting Covid, Distributing Aid and Changing Albany's Culture: Governor Hochul Outlines Priorities in First Public Address

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    Governor Kathy Hochul (Mike Groll/Governor's office)


    Newly sworn-in Governor Kathy Hochul said Tuesday she would take proactive measures to fight the spread of the Covid delta variant, quickly distribute federal relief funds and immediately strengthen state ethics and sexual harassment regulations as she seeks to change the culture in Albany that she inherited from disgraced former Governor Andrew Cuomo.

    Hochul, a Democrat, was sworn in earlier in the day, becoming the 57th governor of New York State and making history as the first woman to hold the

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  • Cuomo Strikes Defiant Tone in Farewell Address

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    Governor Andrew Cuomo (Kevin P. Coughlin/Governor's office)


    Governor Andrew Cuomo struck a defiant tone Monday in his farewell address as he sought to defend his record in office and paint the attorney general’s sexual harassment investigation that prompted his resignation as “unfair” and “unjust.”

    Cuomo is officially stepping down at 11:59 p.m., two weeks after announcing that he would resign following an independent investigation which found he had sexually harassed or groped 11 women, nine of whom are current and former state employees. His

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  • The Major Challenges and Decisions Facing Kathy Hochul as She Becomes Governor of New York

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    Incoming Governor Kathy Hochul (photo: governor's office)


    Kathy Hochul will become New York’s 57th governor on Tuesday, and the first woman ever to hold the position, as disgraced Governor Andrew Cuomo’s resignation goes into effect and he hands over the reins of state government. Hochul, who has been Cuomo’s lieutenant governor since 2015, will take over the complicated machinery and immense power of state government. She will face no shortage of challenges as she assumes authority over an executive chamber mired in scandal and a state

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  • LISTEN: Kathy Hochul In Her Own Words

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    Soon-to-be-Governor Kathy Hochul (photo: governor's office)


    Kathy Hochul, the Democratic Lieutenant Governor about to become New York's 57th Governor and first woman to hold the position, has been stepping further into her own after the resignation announcement by Governor Andrew Cuomo. As Hochul becomes Governor on Tuesday, August 24, 2021, she will define herself anew as the most powerful state government leader, free of the trappings of the Lieutenant Governor position, largely seen as a key functionary for the Governor and his or her

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