The New York Times Endorses Kathy Hochul for New York Governor

In New York State’s Democratic primary election for governor on June 28, some of the protections and freedoms we would expect in a healthy democracy are on the ballot: the right to vote; the right of women to reproductive freedom; the right to a fair and competent system of public safety, including protection not just from street crime but also from the proliferation of assault rifles and gun violence; and, as President Franklin Roosevelt once said, the freedom from want — want for affordable housing, strong education, a sustainable climate, a stable economic future, among so much more.

With the federal government paralyzed on many of these issues, states are poised to become an even more powerful force in American life. New York is among the few that have been dedicated to defending these essential norms that are under attack elsewhere in the country.

It’s a moment, in other words, when leadership matters. Gov. Kathy Hochul is already leading on these questions, and she deserves an additional four years as chief executive of New York. She has our endorsement to be elected governor.

A former member of Congress who was elected lieutenant governor in 2014, Ms. Hochul stepped into the governor’s office last August after Andrew Cuomo resigned amid allegations of sexual harassment. It was a period of upheaval and uncertainty for New York’s roughly 20 million residents, as the state was still suffering through the Delta wave of the Covid pandemic. In her first months in office, Ms. Hochul gave the state exactly what it needed: a competent, steady hand who put the interests of the public first.

She has since recruited a team of talented experts to serve New York and lead the state out of the pandemic.Dr. Mary Bassett, New York City’s former public health department commissioner, an independent thinker, now heads the state’s Department of Public Health. Janno Lieber, whom Ms. Hochul appointed to lead the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, has shown insight into both the politics and the policy needed to transform the state’s transport infrastructure.Kathryn Garcia, a proven leader and skilled administrator, has served ably as the governor’s chief of operations.

Ms. Hochul hasn’t always gotten it right. One serious misstep was her choice of a former state senator, Brian Benjamin, to serve as lieutenant governor. He resigned in April after beingindicted on charges of bribery and fraud. In an interview, the editorial board pressed Ms. Hochul repeatedly on why she chose Mr. Benjamin despite the red flags raised in his background check and numerous news accounts of potentially fraudulent campaign donations. Beyond saying she took “full responsibility,” she offered little clarification.

The pandemic and rising threats to democracy have also made clear just how much the presence of good public servants matters. Overall, Ms. Hochul has shown herself capable of tending to the state’s needs while leaving behind the drama and tiresome bravado of the many governors who served before her, a bracing change. She has worked closely — and collaboratively — with Mayor Eric Adams of New York, a relationship that is vital to any effort to improve public safety, education and public transit in New York City and across the state.

In an interview with the board, Ms. Hochul spoke convincingly of her ability to handle crises, from hurricanes to pandemics. That’s reassuring, but there’s far more to the job than being a crisis manager and an effective boss. New York needs and deserves a chief executive who is capable of showing leadership, vision and political courage when necessary.

Ms. Hochul has demonstrated that passion on reproductive rights, an issue where New York will play a critical role. The governor has directed$35 million to expand capacity and enhance security. She is expected in the coming days to sign apackage of bills into law further strengthening access to abortion and protecting providers from prosecution or malpractice lawsuits from anti-abortion states. She has also strongly backed a push to amend the state Constitution to include access to abortion rights and has vowed to make the state a “safe harbor” for women from other states seeking abortion care.

She is also prepared to lead on the issue of gun violence. Ms. Hochul, who once had an A rating from the National Rifle Association for her legislative record, says her personal views about how to regulate ­­guns changed dramatically after a gunman shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. “I became converted in a sense,” the governor told us in an interview. “That evolution is an evolution that we need to have more people have. And I’m the best person to talk about that.”

This was not simply a political move. Ms. Hochul has embraced gun safety regulations. On June 6, the governorsigned into law bills to raise the minimum age for purchases of semiautomatic rifles to 21 from 18, bar most civilian sales of body armor and strengthen the state’s red-flag law, aimed at blocking people who show signs they may pose a threat to others or themselves from obtaining a firearm. She signed into law last year abill banning the sale of so-calledghost guns, firearms that are assembled in pieces and are often untraceable. Her familiarity with gun culture in rural areas should help her make the case for reasonable gun safety measures to gun owners.

Ms. Hochul has made a commitment to confront domestic terrorism, a growing threat. After the white supremacist shooting in Buffalo that killed 10 people on May 14, shepromised to add an eight-person unit in the state police to track such extremism online. A larger effort will be undertaken by the state’s emergency services agency. These are good first steps, but we would like to see Ms. Hochul put the full weight of New York’s government toward making the state inhospitable to violent white supremacy and other extremist violence. These threats cost lives and tear at the fabric of our democracy.

New Yorkers need the same urgency put toward how the governor will address the pressing problems in their everyday lives, especially public safety, housing and the economy.

On public safety, Ms. Hochul’s emphasis on trying to interrupt the flow of guns into the state is correct. “The problem is the guns on the streets,” she said in her interview.

The state has built far too little housing, and rents and home prices are spiraling out of reach, even for wealthier New Yorkers. Ms. Hochul will need to make the case — with conviction — for building more housing, especially in the suburbs of New York City.

Ms. Hochul also needs to explain more directly what she would do to improve the state’s economic fortunes — and to ensure that prosperity is more broadly shared. The lack of a clear economic message has become a chronic problem for Democrats in state and national elections. She and her party need to convince voters that they know how to channel economic growth into concrete improvements in the lives of Americans. One critical challenge is revitalizing the business districts in New York City, where several recent high-profile crimes on the subway and elsewhere, plus coronavirus variants and a surge in cases, are keeping many office workers at home.

Ms. Hochul has the opportunity to draw a clear contrast with Republicans by emphasizing the role that government can play in improving New Yorkers’ quality of life and in increasing access to opportunity. She has put forward proposals in areas such as housing, transit and education that could form pieces of such a vision. The test before her is not dissimilar to that facing Democratic hopefuls across the country. She needs to address more directly the economic struggles faced by so many New Yorkers — and to explain how the state, under her leadership, can deliver them a better future.

We still hope to see more from her. Ms. Hochul’s budget process could bemore transparent. Her reliance on large donations, particularly from the real estate industry, isdispiritingly familiar. We had questions about the last-minute appearance in the state budget of taxpayer funds for a new stadium in Buffalo. Her husband works for a company that provides concessions at the existing stadium. “We are very, very, very careful about not having any involvement or engagement or financial gain that comes from anything involved here,” she said in response to our questions about this possible conflict of interest.

States and cities also have to make up for inaction on climate change at the federal level. New York State’s Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, passed under Governor Cuomo, set forth an ambitious set of greenhouse gas reduction targets. But realizing those lofty goals requires making more progress on specific measures, such as encouraging offshore wind energy, electrifying school and public buses and making sure that new residential and commercial buildings are energy efficient.

There are other good public servants in this Democratic primary. Tom Suozzi, a representative from Long Island, has brought a much-needed sense of urgency to the race and has shown a visceral understanding of the everyday frustrations of many New Yorkers. His focus on tax cuts isn’t sound economics, however. His ideas for housing policy sound like more of the same. And his tough-on-crime campaign seems to ignore some of the important lessons around the need for bail reform.

Jumaane Williams, New York City’s public advocate, brings an important perspective to the race. Mr. Williams has wisely cautioned against returning to New York’s punitive and ineffective policies on policing and incarceration. But in his interview with the editorial board, Mr. Williams’s vision did not venture far beyond the New York City region, and his activist politics and relative lack of experience as a state official are out of step with what New York needs right now.

We have endorsed both men for other offices at other times, and the competition they bring to this race is welcome. Today, we are confident Ms. Hochul is the best choice to be New York’s governor.

New York’s Republican primary for governor is also being held on June 28. The candidates include Representative Lee Zeldin of Long Island; Rob Astorino, a former Westchester County executive; Andrew Giuliani, a former Trump administration official and the son of Rudy Giuliani, a former mayor of New York; and Harry Wilson, a businessman and former adviser to Barack Obama. The editorial board is not making an endorsement in that race.

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Source: Elections - nytimes.com