Gov. Kathy Hochul is fighting for her political life as she seeks a full term as New York’s chief executive. As polls show, part of the explanation for why the Buffalo Democrat is losing ground to her opponent, Congressman Lee Zeldin, is that the issues she faced earlier this year were issues the public wasn’t interested in hearing, such as abortion and Roe v. Wade. Meanwhile, Zeldin (R-Shirley, Suffolk County) focused on crime, inflation and the economy, the main fear spaces for the general public.
During a one-hour debate on Spectrum News on Tuesday, Oct. 25, the two applicants debated 15 issues, adding crime, cashless bail reform, public safety, gun control, housing, economics, congestion pricing, abortion, public corruption, marijuana legalization, immigration policy, economic development, investment for the new Buffalo Bills stadium, of a new casino in the New York area and vaccination mandates against Covid and polio.
Zeldin, 42, under pressure that “in the middle of the debate he did not communicate about locking up someone who has committed a crime. “, has consequences. I don’t know why it’s so vital to you. . . We may do more,” Hochul admitted.
When Zeldin pointed out how dire the economy, crime, and wallet disorders are across the state, Hochul’s only reaction was to call Zeldin the “great reaper. “Meanwhile, Hochul ranked “Cheerleader in Charge” for her cheerful public persona.
As for the taste for the Hochul government, she has a tendency to want to show herself publicly as a strong woman, as a mother who teaches her children to do the right thing, when speaking to the media or at public events. He also has a tendency to show that he is strong as a tough guy and that he defends women who succeed in leadership positions. She mentions that there are more women commissioners on her management and leadership team than at any time in New York’s history.
Hochul came into office promising openness and a new era of transparency, and then refused to talk about legislative negotiations because he didn’t want to go before legislative leaders discussing legislative issues before leaders agreed on measures.
Hochul has all been still transparent, tending to become a mysterious force that runs behind the scenes and doesn’t reveal what goes on behind closed doors.
While Hochul maintains that he needs to keep a busy schedule out of the office, his public schedules reveal that he is in New York counties without any important points about what he does in those counties. She leads personal meetings and is known as a prodigious fundraiser. Hochul raised more than $50 million for his gubernatorial campaign. She blames her opponent for having a billionaire donor who contributed more than $10 million to her campaign.
His secrecy about legislative matters, plan-making, and fundraising efforts led to a suggestion of irregularity akin to potential conflicts of interest. Hochul maintains that he doesn’t compare ratings on who provides and who gets precedence and special treatment, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t exceed the limits.
Several suspected cases of conflicts of interest have been reported in political classified ads through his opponent, adding the structure of a new football stadium for the Buffalo Bills, the team owned by billionaire Terry Pegula.
Zeldin criticized Hochul for postponing the bidding and buying Covid tests in Dayton, N. J. Digital Gadgets for twice the price, $600 million, for which California bought the same tests.
Hochul replied, “I told my team to faint and locate any and all check kits I can find. I’m glad I won the check kits because we took the kids back to school in New York and they didn’t come back many other places.
Because of the lack of transparency and her prodigious fundraising efforts, Hochul has been exposed to complaints as a paying governor, a fee Hochul denies.
“There is no paid corruption. There has never been a quid pro quo, a replacement in policy or a resolution made because of a contribution,” Hochul said at the debate. “We make sure we have internal controls. I have them now. They are in their place, so why do they deserve to be replaced?”
Despite all the questions Hochul might have raised when given the opportunity to debate, he chose to keep pressing Zeldin about his intimate and close relationship with former President Donald Trump.
In response, in part, Zeldin, who is Jewish, explained how he worked with Trump on U. S. -China relations. The US and Israel, moving the embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, giving a spicy touch to the Abraham agreements, striving to pass after Iran’s nuclear war. “which was fatally flawed and thankfully stopped him,” Zeldin said.
Hochul responded, “The New York electorate disagrees with you. “
Zeldin said he would consider an executive order a “criminal emergency on his first day in office. “He also mentioned another point in the debate about how Jews are affected by the emerging crime rate in New York City.
“People are at home waiting for steps to be taken to make sure handcuffs pass criminals instead of law-abiding New Yorkers so other people can walk the streets of Manhattan instead of having to call an Uber just to drive two blocks because they’re afraid. The people who have replaced their behavior. . . Maybe they are Jewish and take off their kippahs because they are afraid of being attacked. There are criminals who have to pay the consequences of their movements rather than the capture-and-release policies advocated through Kathy. Hochul.
At the beginning of the debate, Zeldin criticized Hochul for having a weak criminal policy.
“Jews are the target of violent and crude anti-Semitism on our streets and this happened [a few days before this debate]. We want to communicate about all those other crimes, but instead, Kathy Hochul is too busy congratulating herself on a job well done.
Throughout the debate, Hochul never discussed any challenges related to the Jewish community. His silence was deafening. The issues facing seniors, the banking industry or the environment, even though the $4. 2 billion environmental bond law is in the poll in the upcoming election, were never discussed. The Environmental Quality Obligations Act would fund water quality and resilient infrastructure, open area conservation, and recreation. , recovery and reduction of flood hazards, and climate replacement mitigation.
The call from Andrew Cuomo, Hochul’s predecessor, is also never mentioned. Hochul appears at the opening events Cuomo has hosted and never mentions him through the call, as if he never existed.
Hochul’s most productive line in the debate is that she “didn’t govern through sound clips but with sound politics. “
In many circles, Hochul is known as the “accidental governor” because she became governor and rose to other government leadership positions in her career without the vote of the people.
Hochul always likes to remind the electorate that she, at age 29, was on U. S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan’s staff in 1987. After graduating from law school, Hochul began applying for a law firm in Washington. Array D. C. , but said he discovered the task unsatisfactory. She then worked as a legal counsel and legislative assistant to Congressman John LaFalce (D-Buffalo) and also for the New York State Assembly, before running for office.
His political career began in 1994, at the age of 36, as a board member of the city of Hamburg, Erie County, where he spent thirteen years focusing on local affairs. She also served as deputy county clerk. When her boss resigned in 2007 as commissioner of motor vehicles under the Spitzer-Paterson administrations, Hochul was named the most productive paper saleswoman. She was elected to a full term as Erie County clerk in 2007 and re-elected in 2010.
As county clerk, Hochul was guilty of receiving court documents, registering and retaining land transactions, issuing passports, overseeing permit distribution, and acting as a county motor vehicle agent. activities in Erie County on behalf of the Department of Motor Vehicles.
In May 2011, Hochul won a four-way race in a special election to fill a void in New York’s 26th congressional district, with only 47% of the vote. The vacuum was created through the resignation of then-Congressman Chris Lee, a Republican. , becoming the first Democrat since LaFalce to form the district in 40 years. He earned an A minus rating and approved the campaign through the National Rifle Association, a rare move for the organization. The district was considered a safe Republican district, but when the GOP vote was split, Hochul took office for a term beginning May 24, 2011. Both his predecessor and his successor resigned from Congress amid sex scandals. His predecessor as governor also resigned amid the shadow of a sex scandal.
Prior to being appointed Lieutenant Governor through Governor Andrew Cuomo in 2014, Hochul worked as a government official for the
Hochul, 64, identifies as Irish Catholic. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Syracuse University and his law degree from Columbus School of Law at The Catholic University of America, founded in Washington, DC. She is married to Bill Hochul. La couple has two children. Hochul is one of the founders of Kathleen Mary House, an intermediate space for women and youth victims of domestic violence.
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